A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“What you are cannot be harmed by anything that changes.”
This embodied self cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, unmoving, fixed, and timeless.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyuncuttable · this · unburnable · this · unwettable · undryable · indeed · and · eternal · all-pervading · fixed · unmoving · this · timeless
The true self cannot be destroyed by any physical force. It is permanent, present everywhere, unmoving, and beyond time.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 24 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
A man laid off at fifty-five can feel he has been cut down to nothing. Krishna's list says otherwise about the self: it cannot be cut, burned, wetted or dried, and it is eternal.
Did you like this verse?
Krishna piles up the words for the self: uncuttable, unburnable, eternal, all-pervading, unmoving and fixed.
What this verse means
The true self cannot be destroyed by any physical force. It is permanent, present everywhere, unmoving, and beyond time.
Context & commentary
Krishna deepens his teaching: the inner being cannot be harmed the way a body can. This verse strengthens the case for acting without grief.
What it looks like today
A man laid off at fifty-five can feel he has been cut down to nothing. Krishna's list says otherwise about the self: it cannot be cut, burned, wetted or dried, and it is eternal.
“What you truly are is untouched by change, so fear loses its grip.”
Explore related themes: atman (12 verses)