श्रीभगवानुवाच ।अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे ।गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca |aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṃ prajñāvādāṃś ca bhāṣase |gatāsūn agatāsūṃś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ ||
- श्रीभगवान् · śrībhagavān
- the Blessed Lord
- उवाच · uvāca
- said
- अशोच्यान् · aśocyān
- those not to be grieved for
- अन्वशोचः · anvaśocaḥ
- you grieve for
- त्वम् · tvam
- you
- प्रज्ञावादान् · prajñāvādān
- words of wisdom
- च · ca
- and
- भाषसे · bhāṣase
- you speak
- गतासून् · gatāsūn
- for the dead (those whose breath has gone)
- अगतासून् · agatāsūn
- for the living (those whose breath has not gone)
- च · ca
- and
- न · na
- not
- अनुशोचन्ति · anuśocanti
- grieve
- पण्डिताः · paṇḍitāḥ
- the wise
“The Blessed Lord said: You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the dead nor for the living.”
— Original plain-language translation
The teaching opens with a paradox Arjuna must untangle: his words are wise, his grief misplaced. Krishna does not deny death — he denies that the wise locate the person in what dies. Everything from 2.12 to 2.30 unpacks this single sentence.
— Reader's notes (original)