Word meanings
- yaḥ
- one who
- enam
- this
- vetti
- knows
- hantāram
- the slayer
- yaḥ
- one who
- ca
- and
- enam
- this
- manyate
- thinks
- hatam
- slain
- ubhau
- both
- tau
- they
- na
- not
- vijānītaḥ
- in knowledge
- na
- neither
- ayam
- this
- hanti
- slays
- na
- nor
- hanyate
- is killed
Translations
He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them knows. It does not slay, nor is it slain.
He who thinks that the Spirit kills, and he who thinks of it as killed, are both ignorant. The Spirit neither kills nor is it killed.
He who thinks of this One as the killer, and he who thinks of this One as the one being killed, both of them do not know. This One neither kills nor is It killed.
जो मनुष्य इस अविनाशी शरीरीको मारनेवाला मानता है और जो मनुष्य इसको मरा मानता है, वे दोनों ही इसको नहीं जानते; क्योंकि यह न मारता है और न मारा जाता है।Commentary
The Self is nondoer (Akarta) and as It is immutable? It is neither the agent nor the object of the act of slaying. He who thinks I slay or I am slain with the body or the Ahamkara (ego), he does not really comprehend the true nature of the Self. The Self is indestructible. It exists in the three periods of time. It is Sat (Existence). When the body is destroyed, the Self is not destroyed. The body has to undergo change in any case. It is inevitable. But the Self is not at all affected by it.
Verses 19? 20? 21? 23 and 24 speak of the immortality of the Self or Atman. (Cf.XVIII.17)