Bg. 2.19

In this verse Kṛṣṇa confirms the indestructible nature of the soul. That person who thinks that the jīva with such an indestructible nature is a killer, using a sword or other instrument, and thinks that such a jīva is harmed by the sword, does not know. That ātmā, a very fine particle of consciousness, which cannot be cut or transformed in any way, is not a killer nor is it killed. It is neither the performer of the act of killing nor the subject of killing. One should understand that there is no destruction of the ātmā simply by separation of the ātmā from the body. The śruti also makes such statements: hantā cen manyate hantuṁ hataś cen manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate If the killer thinks that he kills or the killed person thinks that he has been killed, both do not know the nature of the soul. He does not kill or get killed. Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.19 In statements such as mā hiṁsyāt sarva-bhūtāni (do not harm any living entity) [Note: The source is not traceable, though it is quoted by Baladeva and Rāmanuja several times. Na hiṁsyāt sarva bhūtāni is found in Mahabhārata, as mentioned earlier.] the violence is explained as violence concerning the separation of ātmā from the body. The statement does not prove that the ātmā is the killer, since the ātmā (which is not killed) exists even when separated from his body.