🌟 Shloka 13 of 20 – You Were Never Born; You Will Never Die

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Shloka 20 – Deep Dive
“The Self is never born, and never dies…”

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📜 Sanskrit Verse

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे॥

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🔤 Transliteration

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

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🌍 English Translation

The Self is never born and never dies.
It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being.
It is unborn, eternal, everlasting, and ancient.
It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

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🧭 Context in the Gita

As Arjuna hesitates to fight in the Mahābhārata war, overwhelmed by the thought of killing his relatives, Krishna offers this foundational teaching in Chapter 2 — the nature of the Self (Ātman).

This shloka is one of the core verses of Vedantic philosophy, revealing the eternal, untouched nature of the soul.

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🔍 Line-by-Line Explanation

🔹 न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचित्

“The Self is never born, nor does it die…”
Birth and death apply only to the body — not the essence that animates it. You, the true Self, are beyond this duality.

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🔹 नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः

“It has not come into being, nor will it come again…”
This eliminates the idea that the Self is a product of time. It’s not created; it simply exists, always.

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🔹 अजो नित्यः शाश्वतः पुराणः

“It is unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient…”
These four adjectives build upon each other to show the immortal nature of the soul — ever present, never aging, ever whole.

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🔹 न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे

“It is not slain when the body is slain.”
This is the core realization that removes the fear of death — the Self remains, like electricity when the bulb goes out.

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🧠 Modern Life Applications

💀 End of Life Anxiety

• You are not the body — knowing this dissolves fear.
  When someone passes away, remember: they have not ended. They’ve only changed garments.

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⚔️ Dealing with Loss

• Grief becomes softer when we understand that the Self cannot be touched.
  The form is gone; the essence remains.

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🧘 Spiritual Practice

• Meditation becomes deeper when we realize:
  “I am not this thought, this emotion, or this body.
  I am the eternal observer behind it all.”

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✨ Real-Life Analogy

A man changes his clothes — the clothes may wear out, but the man remains.
Likewise, you change bodies, but the true Self remains untouched.

Think of yourself as light in a lamp — when the lamp breaks, the light still shines elsewhere.

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📿 Daily Practice Tip (Layman-Friendly)

✅ Every night before you sleep, say this silently:

“I am not the body, not the mind. I am the eternal Self.”

Let this truth soak in — it’s a powerful mantra that heals fear, grief, and anxiety.

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🪔 Takeaway Affirmation

🎵 I am not this changing form,
Not the storm or shifting norm.
I am still, I am the sky —
Birthless, deathless, never die. 🎵