अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् ।तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
atha cainaṃ nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam |tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
- अथ · atha
- but, even if
- च · ca
- and
- एनम् · enam
- this (self)
- नित्यजातम् · nityajātam
- as perpetually born
- नित्यम् · nityam
- perpetually
- वा · vā
- or
- मन्यसे · manyase
- you think
- मृतम् · mṛtam
- as dead, dying
- तथापि · tathāpi
- even then, still
- त्वम् · tvam
- you
- महाबाहो · mahābāho
- O mighty-armed one (Arjuna)
- न · na
- not
- एवम् · evam
- thus
- शोचितुम् · śocitum
- to grieve
- अर्हसि · arhasi
- should
“But even if you think of it as perpetually born and perpetually dying, O mighty-armed one, still you should not grieve thus.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna grants the materialist premise for argument's sake: suppose the soul dies with the body — even then, grief is misplaced. It is a debater's generosity that doubles as a trap: every worldview, examined, releases its grip on sorrow.
— Reader's notes (original)