Verse 2.22
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि। तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा- न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही॥
Transliteration (IAST)
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī
Word-by-Word Meanings
vāsāṁsi-garments
jīrṇāni-worn out
vihāya-casting off
navāni-new
śarīrāṇi-bodies
dehī-the embodied soul
Translation
Just as a person casts off worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so does the embodied soul cast off worn-out bodies and enter new ones.
Commentary
This is perhaps the most famous analogy in Indian philosophy for reincarnation. The comparison of bodies to clothes makes transmigration seem natural and unthreatening. Just as changing clothes does not change the person, changing bodies does not affect the Self. The analogy also implies that death is not an ending but a renewal.
Themes
atmanjnanamoksha