Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (Adi Shankaracharya) 2.19
Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (Adi Shankaracharya) 2.19 · 2 · Verse 19
Sanskrit Original
।।2.19।। य एनं प्रकृतं देहिनं वेत्ति विजानाति हन्तारं हननक्रियायाः कर्तारं यश्च एनम् अन्यो मन्यते हतं देहहननेन हतः अहम् इति हननक्रियायाः कर्मभूतम् तौ उभौ न विजानीतः न ज्ञातवन्तौ अविवेकेन आत्मानम्। हन्ता अहम् हतः अस्मि अहम् इति देहहननेन आत्मानमहंप्रत्ययविषयं यौ विजानीतः तौ आत्मस्वरूपानभिज्ञौ इत्यर्थः। यस्मात् न अयम् आत्मा हन्ति न हननक्रियायाः कर्ता भवति न च हन्यते न च कर्म भवतीत्यर्थः अविक्रियत्वात्।। कथमविक्रय आत्मेति द्वितीयो मन्त्रः
2.19 But the ideas that you have, 'Bhisma and others are neing killed by me in war; I am surely their killer' this idea of yours is false. How? Yah, he who; vetti, thinks; of enam, this One, the embodied One under consideration; as hantaram, the killer, the agent of the act of killing; ca, and; yah, he who, the other who; manyate, thinks; of enam, this One; as hatam, the killed (who thinks) 'When the body is killed, I am myself killed; I become the object of the act of killing'; ubhau tau, both of them; owing to non-discrimination, na, do not; vijanitah, know the Self which is the subject of the consciousness of 'I'. The meaning is: On the killing of the body, he who thinks of the Self ( the content of the consciousness of 'I' ) [The Ast. omits this phrase from the precedig sentence and includes it in this place. The A.A. has this phrase in both the places.-Tr.] as 'I am the killer', and he who thinks, 'I have been killed', both of them are ignorant of the nature of the Self. For, ayam, this Self; owing to Its changelessness, na hanti, does not kill, does not become the agent of the act of killing; na hanyate, nor is It killed, i.e. It does not become the object (of the act of killing). The second verse is to show how the Self is changeless: