Verse 2.21

वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम् ।

कथं स पुरुषः पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम् ॥

2.21

Transliteration

vedāvināśinaṃ nityaṃ ya enamajamavyayam |

kathaṃ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha kaṃ ghātayati hanti kam ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

Whosoever knows It to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and inexhaustible, how can that man slay, O Arjuna, or cause to be slain?

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

knows
indestructible
eternal
who
this
unborn
imperishable

how
that
person
O Partha
whom
causes to kill
kills
whom

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Krishna draws the consequence of knowing the self as indestructible, eternal, unborn and unchanging. For one who truly knows this, the question of who kills whom loses its usual meaning. The verse is phrased as a question, how could such a person kill or cause killing, which invites Arjuna to examine his own assumptions. Commentators across traditions have noted that the verse speaks of the knower's understanding, and it is not a licence for harm; the Gita grounds action in duty and selflessness elsewhere.