Gita : Ch-2. Slo-13.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :


Chapter-2. ( Samkya-yogam)


Slokam-13.  (  As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change. )




dehinosmin    yatha    dehe   kaumaram  yauvanam    jara,



tatha     dehantarapraptih    dhirastatra    na    muhyati.



dehinah   =   to   the   bodily   conscious   jivan;

asmin    dehe   =   in   this   body;

yatha   kaumaram   =   in   which   way,  boy/girl hoods;

yauvanam    jara    =   and   youth,   old  age;

tatha     dehantarapraptih   =   like  wise   the   attaining   of   another  body (  transfer  of  jivatma  to  another   body ); 

tatra   dhirah   na   muhyati   =  in   that  ( there  upon )  intelligent   with  discriminative   persons   do  not   get   bewildered ( deluded ).  




Since every living entity is an individual soul, each is changing his body every moment, manifesting sometimes as a child, sometimes as a youth, and sometimes as an old man. Yet the same spirit soul is there and does not undergo any change. This individual soul finally changes the body at death and transmigrates to another body; and since it is sure to have another body in the next birth—either material or spiritual—there was no cause for lamentation by Arjuna on account of death, neither for Bhīṣma nor for Droṇa, for whom he was so much concerned. Rather, he should rejoice for their changing bodies from old to new ones, thereby rejuvenating their energy. Such changes of body account for varieties of enjoyment or suffering, according to one's work in life. So Bhīṣma and Droṇa, being noble souls, were surely going to have either spiritual bodies in the next life, or at least life in heavenly bodies for superior enjoyment of material existence. So, in either case, there was no cause of lamentation.



Any man who has perfect knowledge of the constitution of the individual soul, the Supersoul, and nature—both material and spiritual—is called a dhira or a most sober man. Such a man is never deluded by the change of bodies. The Mayavadi theory of oneness of the spirit soul cannot be entertained on the ground that spirit soul cannot be cut into pieces as a fragmental portion. Such cutting into different individual souls would make the Supreme cleavable or changeable, against the principle of the Supreme Soul being unchangeable.



As confirmed in the Gītā, the fragmental portions of the Supreme exist eternally (sanātana) and are called kṣara; that is, they have a tendency to fall down into material nature. These fragmental portions are eternally so, and even after liberation, the individual soul remains the same—fragmental. But once liberated, he lives an eternal life in bliss and knowledge with the Personality of Godhead. The theory of reflection can be applied to the Supersoul who is present in each and every individual body and is known as the Paramātmā, who is different from the individual living entity. When the sky is reflected in water, the reflections represent both the sun and the moon and the stars also. The stars can be compared to the living entities and the sun or the moon to the Supreme Lord. The individual fragmental spirit soul is represented by Arjuna, and the Supreme Soul is the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They are not on the same level, as it will be apparent in the beginning of the Fourth Chapter. If Arjuna is on the same level with Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is not superior to Arjuna, then their relationship of instructor and instructed becomes meaningless. If both of them are deluded by the illusory energy (māyā), then there is no need of one being the instructor and the other the instructed. Such instruction would be useless because, in the clutches of māyā, no one can be an authoritative instructor. Under the circumstances, it is admitted that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, superior in position to the living entity, Arjuna, who is a forgotten soul deluded by māyā.


This verse confirms that the soul is distinct from the body but by it being distinct does not make it independent. Only when the physical body is seen changing through infancy, childhood, youth etc. can this separate distinctness be perceived and thus confirmed until the soul giving up its present body acquires a new body and in some rare cases a living entity can recollect their past lives. 

The physical body is obviously not what has the experience of childhood, youth, etc as is evidenced when the body is dead. The body is just the container and when the soul has departed. The body has no further identification with the soul leading itself to experience that it is a human being or tiger or worm or whatever physical form it possessed as the case may be. But due to the fact that the soul remains within the physical body during deep sleep similar to the ego centered mind; it is possible to perceive the existence of the soul as an independent consciousness whereas the body is merely like a wooden box. 

This is verified by direct experience from the transcendental authority of the Vedas. It cannot be conceived by any mental or intellectual genius because it is beyond the scope of materialism. Nor can the Vedas reflect any vestige of human intellect or human endeavour within them because they come exclusively from the divine revelations of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa avatara an authorised incarnation of the Supreme Lord confirmed by name in the Vedic scripture known as Srimad Bhagavatam or Bhagavat Purana 

Without understanding that there is a transcendental source to the eternal Vedas, the establishment of statements regarding righteousness cannot be applicable for all eternity and if they are not accepted for all time then there would have been no reason for them to exist and they would not have been the basic foundation for the instruction of righteousness. Without the universality of these premises the denial of what is not truth would not have been possible. There would then have been no connection to eternality from any established source. Therefore the principles found in the eternal Vedas constitute what is real. Otherwise without superior guidance from an eternal source nothing in this life can be accepted as absolute evidence. Things that we have heard would have no relevance as they would have nothing to reference it to. Otherwise one would have no thoughts or response to this that you are now reading. It would appear as a figment of the imagination. It would then be a cause of misery unless one was due to self-realisation an exception to this. If activities are judged with reference to righteousness or unrighteousness then facades of being unaware are not valid and intention is automatically exposed. 

The transcendental statements found in the Vedas are eternal being established beyond the purview of time, hence the Vedas are self-evident and are to be known as absolute giving perfect knowledge of the Ultimate Truth. By the authority of the Vedas the wise are never deluded. Otherwise why would there be any sorrow thinking that the destruction of the physical body is the destruction of the soul. The soul cannot be destroyed. The soul is eternal thus the statement not that you were not. Not even by the destruction of the physical body. Hence the statement dehinah meaning the soul being the occupier of the deha which is the body. Even with the physical body changing its form as from infancy to childhood to youth etc. or being pitiful on account of old age etc. With the deterioration and demise of the body certainly comes the acceptance of another new body. 


Because of the traditional conception that a son is born of a father and and that the grandfather died and also due to there being an injunction by the authority of the Vedic books of law that a brahmana remains impure during the ten days following a birth or death in his immeadiate family; how is it possible that one can think of the soul as being birthless and deathless? And if one continues to think of the soul as being born and of dying how can one alleviate their grief when the physical body dies? Can the authority of the Vedic books of law be denied? To clarify such doubts Lord Krishna uses the word dehinah meaning attributed to the embodied soul. It is the embodied soul who occupies the physical body which is the vehicle to experience the consequences of all ones actions. The embodied soul allocated a particular body experiences infancy, childhood, youth and old age, each stage of life which possess its own distinct attributes at different time periods. But although there is a difference in the stages and a difference in the perception of identity there is absolutely no difference in the soul. This is because although the activities one experiences continuously reside in the compartment of the memory and because when one is experiencing these different stages there developes the conception of identifying with the bodily designation in the form of it was I who in a young body played upon a fathers lap and was fed by a mother in infancy and it is I who now in an old body experience various relationships with children and grandchildren in old age. Only the bodily conception has changed the soul remains the same. In the same way that the embodied soul experiences the changing physical body, the embodied soul changes physical bodies at the time of death. There is no difference in the soul during any of these modifications of the physcical body and there is no difference in the soul due to the natural process of receiving another new body. One who is spiritually intelligent realizes that there is no birth or death associated with the soul and is not deluded by the apparent disfunctiong of the physical body even in the death of a son or father. 

From this verse up until verse 30 beginning with dehi nityam avadhyo meaning the embodied soul can never be destroyed, the use of the singular is in the collective sense referring to all existing souls and this does not suggest that these embodied soul although of the nature of the Supreme Soul are on the same paltform with. This collectivity of the individual souls referred to is taught by the expert preceptor in the line of disciplic succession that the soul is eternal and never suject in any way to old age and death. 

Statements supporting the varieagatedness of attaining communion with the Ultimate Consciousnes can be found in almost all of the chapters of Bhagavad-Gita and this variegatedness is supported based on the context by which they are written. Statements such as those of great virtue whose sins have been dissolved, those being freed from the delusion of the dualities, those great souls who possess the divine nature offer exclusive worship to the Supreme Lord, with their minds and lives surrendered to the Supreme Lord, those free from pride and infatuation, those who have conquered the vice of attachment and those whose desires have completely dissapeared, This varieagatedness is delieanated for those whose nescience is completely dissolved, whose doubts have been dispelled by knowledge, whose minds are firmly established in God, whose are righteously engaged in promoting the welfare of all living entities whose sins have been washed away, who are free from lust and anger, who have controlled their minds and who have realised the Ultimate Truth. 

If this were not the case then accepting the conception of the oneness of all souls in all bodies would mean that we all would have a singular uniform experience. If we were all one soul then whether one were sleeping, another was waking and another fainting, all would experience the same sensations of pleasure pain simultaneously. Moreover there would be no difference in anyones perception due to the absence of any individuality and perceptions of you are and I am. But it is factually not like this in this world and this can be clearly understood by ones individual consciousness. Therefore it is established that those who propound oneness of the soul in all living entities are mistaken for even in the eternal soul there is also varieagatedness. So regarding death of the soul and other such fallacious arguements those with spiritual intelligence neither lament nor are deluded. 


The Supreme Lord Krishna to illustrate that there is no possibility of His having a physical body uses the word dehinah as an adjective to describe the plight of all embodied beings by stating: with the transmigration from one body to another. Therefore perceiving it as just a further modification of the body coming after old age there is no justification for sorrow. 

To be continued   ....