Devanagari
देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत ।
तस्मात्सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥ ३० ॥
Verse text
dehī nityam avadhyo ’yaṁ
dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi
Synonyms
dehī
—
the owner of the material body
;
nityam
—
eternally
;
avadhyaḥ
—
cannot be killed
;
ayam
—
this soul
;
dehe
—
in the body
;
sarvasya
—
of everyone
;
bhārata
—
O descendant of Bharata
;
tasmāt
—
therefore
;
sarvāṇi
—
all
;
bhūtāni
—
living entities (that are born)
;
na
—
never
;
tvam
—
you
;
śocitum
—
to lament
;
arhasi
—
deserve.
Translation
O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
30. O Bhārata, the soul in the body of all entities can never be killed. Therefore you should not lament for any being.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
30. O Bhārata, the soul in the body of all entities can never be killed. Therefore you should not lament for any being.
Purport
The Lord now concludes the chapter of instruction on the immutable spirit soul. In describing the immortal soul in various ways, Lord Kṛṣṇa establishes that the soul is immortal and the body is temporary. Therefore Arjuna as a kṣatriya should not abandon his duty out of fear that his grandfather and teacher – Bhīṣma and Droṇa – will die in the battle. On the authority of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one has to believe that there is a soul different from the material body, not that there is no such thing as soul, or that living symptoms develop at a certain stage of material maturity resulting from the interaction of chemicals. Though the soul is immortal, violence is not encouraged, but at the time of war it is not discouraged when there is actual need for it. That need must be justified in terms of the sanction of the Lord, and not capriciously.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“Therefore speak clearly. What should I do and not do?”
“Do not lament, but rather fight.” In two verses, Kṛṣṇa explains this.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Having succinctly taught the nature of the ātmā which is difficult to understand, the Lord concludes the topic by saying that Arjuna should not grieve for the ātmā.
Since this jīva (dehī) situated in the destructible bodies of all living entities (dehe) is eternal and cannot be killed at any time, you should not lament for all living entities that have attained bodies including Bhīsma (sarva bhūtāni). You should not lament for the ātmās because they are eternal, and you should not lament for the bodies because they will inevitably be destroyed by their very nature.
Surrender Unto Me
This verse is the summary of all the Section B about Jnana or knowledge of the difference between the soul and the body.
Jnana is used to dispel the illusion that Arjuna had had that he is the body, he will be the killer...
[ C. KARMA‑KANDA / SAKAMA‑KARMA
FIGHT! FOR GAINS COME FROM DUTIFULLY FIGHTING AND LOSSES COME FROM NOT FIGHTING (2.31‑38)
If Arjuna dies in the battle he will be promoted to heaven, and if he wins the battle, he will rule the earth. Dishonor will overtake him if he leaves the battlefield. ]
(There is a subtle difference between Karma‑kanda and Sakama‑ karma. Karma‑kanda is basically used in the Vedas and vedic literature for sense gratification. Sakama karma‑yoga wherein one is attached to sense enjoyment, but he is using the vedic system and he assignes the goal that he wants to make spiritual advancement. Karma‑kanda is not yoga, it is just materially going up and then after one's karma runs out one comes down and he takes on a human body , up and down )
In Text 30 Krsna summarized His Jnana Section by saying:
"O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being."
Now in text 31 Krsna is going to explain how to enjoy and why Arjuna should do his duties but for the purpose of enjoying: