Bhagavad Gita 2.20: "Na Jayate Mriyate Va Kadachin" Meaning in Simple English
Bhagavad Gita 2.20 with Sanskrit, transliteration and a simple English meaning: the Self is never born and never dies. Krishna's answer to fear of death and grief, and how to apply it in daily life.
Fear of loss, fear of death, grief when someone leaves: these are among the deepest human feelings. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna answers them in one verse, Chapter 2, verse 20. It is one of the most quoted shlokas of the Gita, and it is worth reading slowly.
The shloka (Gita 2.20)
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि-न्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥ २.२० ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre || 2.20 ||
The Self is never born and never dies. It did not come into being, nor will it cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient. It is not killed when the body is killed.
Word-by-word meaning
- na jāyate: is not born
- mriyate: dies
- kadācit: at any time
- ayam: this (the Self)
- bhūtvā: having come into being
- bhavitā: will cease to be, or will come to be
- ajaḥ: unborn
- nityaḥ: eternal
- śāśvataḥ: everlasting, unchanging
- purāṇaḥ: ancient, always new in essence
- na hanyate: is not killed
- hanyamāne śarīre: when the body is killed
The context
Arjuna stands in the middle of the battlefield and is overwhelmed with grief at the thought of fighting his teachers and relatives. Krishna begins his teaching by lifting the question from the level of the body to the level of the Self. This verse is the heart of that teaching: what we truly are is not what is born and dies.
What it says
The body is born, grows, changes and ends. But the one who lives in the body, the atman, has no birth and no end. The verse uses five words to say this: unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient, and unslain. Nothing that happens to the body touches it.
What it does not say
It is not an excuse to be careless about life or to harm anyone. Krishna is teaching about the Self, not giving permission for violence. The Gita as a whole teaches duty, compassion and balance.
It also does not tell us not to grieve at all. It tells us to see the loss in a larger light. Grief is human. This verse offers a base that holds when the grief comes.
How to apply it in daily life
- In loss. When someone is gone, remember that the person was more than the body, and that love and memory continue.
- In fear. Much of our fear is fear of ending. The verse reminds us that the deepest part of us is not subject to ending.
- In change. Jobs, places and relationships change. A sense of who you are beneath those changes gives you calm.
- In identity. Do not tie your whole worth to the body, a title or a result. You are more than these.
Read the full Gita in simple English
This is one verse out of 700. The Satvik Setu English collection includes the complete Bhagavad Gita, all 18 chapters and all 700 shlokas, each with Sanskrit, transliteration, word meanings and a simple explanation.
The collection has 14 English ebooks in all, including the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, Vedas, Yoga Sutra and Chanakya Niti, plus two bonuses: 12 Jyotirlinga Darshan and 365 Daily Shlok Cards.
You can read a full chapter free first: open the free sample, Gita Chapter 12.
In short
Gita 2.20 says the Self is unborn, eternal and untouched by the death of the body. It is Krishna's first and most basic answer to fear and grief.