18. These bodies of the embodied (Self) who is
eternal, indestructible and unknowable, are said to have an end. Do fight,
therefore, O descendant of Bharata.
19. Whoever looks upon Him as the slayer and whoever looks upon Him as the slain, both these know not aright. He slays not, nor is He slain.
20. He is not born, nor does He ever die; after having been, He again ceases not to be; nor the reverse. Unborn,
eternal, unchangeable and primeval, He is not slain when the body is slain.
21. Whoso knows Him as indestructible, eternal, unborn and inexhaustible – How, O son of Pritha, and whom does such a man cause to slay and whom does he slay?
22. Just as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on others which are new, so the embodied (self) casts off worn-out bodies and enters others which are new.
23. Him weapons cut not, Him fire burns not and Him water wets not; Him wind dries not.
24. He cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor wetted, nor dried up. He is everlasting, all-pervading stable, firm and eternal.
25. He, it is said, is unmanifest, unthinkable and unchangeable. Wherefore, knowing Him to be such, thou hadst better grieve not.
26. But even if thou thinkest of Him as ever being born and ever dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou oughtst not to grieve thus.
27. To that which is born, death is indeed certain; and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, about the unavoidable thing, thou oughtst not to grieve.
28. Beings have their beginning unseen, their middle seen, and their end unseen again. Why any lamentation regarding them ?
29. One sees Him as a
wonder; and so also another speaks of Him as a wonder; and as a wonder another hears of Him; and though hearing, none understands Him at all.
30. He, the embodied (Self) in every one’s body, can never be killed, O descendant of Bharata. Wherefore thou oughtst not to grieve about any creature.
31. Having regard to thine own duty also, thou oughtst not to waver. For, to a Kshatriya, there is nothing more wholesome than a lawful battle.
32. Happy Kshatriya, O son of Pritha, find such a battle as this, come of itself, an open door to heaven.
33. Now if thou wouldst not fight this lawful battle, then having abandoned thine own duty and fame, thou shalt incur sin.
34. People, too, will recount thy everlasting infamy; and to one who has been esteemed, infamy is more than death.
35. The great car-warriors will think thou hast withdrawn from the battle through fear; and having been hitherto highly esteemed by them, thou wilt incur their contempt.
36. Thy enemies, too, scorning thy power, will take many abusive words. What is more painful than that ?
37. Killed, thou wilt reach heaven; victorious, thou wilt enjoy the earth. Wherefore, O son of Kunti, arise, resolved to fight.
38. Then, treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, success and defeat, prepare for the battle and thus wilt thou not incur sin.