Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 19

English Translation

He who thinks of this One as the killer, and he who thinks of this One as the killed both of them do not know. This One does not kill, nor is It killed.

Detailed Commentary

2.19।। Explanation -- 'He who considers the Atman a slayer' -- he does not understand correctly. Because the Atman has no doership (kartritvam). Just as a craftsman cannot do anything without tools, so too the Atman cannot do anything without the body. Therefore, in the thirteenth chapter, the Lord has said that all actions occur through Prakriti -- he who knows this experiences the non-doership (akartritvam) of the Atman (13.29). The meaning is that the Atman has no doership, but by associating itself with the body, it considers itself the doer of actions. If it does not associate itself with the body, then it is not the doer of any action. 'And he who considers it slain' -- he also does not understand correctly. Just as the Atman is not a slayer, so too it is not slain; because it is without vikara (change/modification). That which undergoes vikara, undergoes change, alone can die. 'Both of them do not know, neither does it slay nor is it slain' -- he who considers the Atman a slayer or the slain, does not know correctly. This Atman is not truly such. It is neither the destroyer nor the destroyed. It remains eternally the same in its nirvikara (unchanging) form. Therefore, one should not grieve regarding the Atman. Due to the context of war before Arjuna, the Atman is described here as being free from the action of killing and being killed. In reality, it is free from all actions. Connection -- In response to why this Atman does not die, it is said: