Shloka

अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् |
तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ||२-२६||

Transliteration

atha cainaṃ nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam .
tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho naivaṃ śocitumarhasi ||2-26||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

2.26. On the other hand, if you deem This as being born constantly or as dying constantly, even then, O mighty-armed one, you should not lament This.

Shri Purohit Swami

2.26 Even if thou thinkest of It as constantly being born, constantly dying, even then, O Mighty Man, thou still hast no cause to grieve.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

2.26 Atha va etc. On the other hand if you deam ‘This’ to be the body and to be born constantly,-because its stream does not stop-even then, there is no necessity to lament. Or, if, following the [Vainasika Buddhists’ ?] doctrine of continuous decay of things, you deem This to be constantly dying, even then where is the need for lamenting ? If you, in the same manner, deem the Self to be constantly born or to be constantly dying on account of Its contacts and separations with bodies, even then it is unwarranted, on every account, on the part of the men of rational thinking, to lament. Otherwise this [division of] permanence and impermanence does not stand reasoning. For-

Sri Ramanuja

2.26 Besides, if you consider this self as identical with the body, which is constantly born and constantly dies - which is nothing other than these characteristics of the body mentioned above -, even then it does not become you to feel grief; because, birth and death are inevitable for the body, whose nature is modification.

Sri Shankaracharya

2.26 This (verse), ‘On the other hand,’ etc., is uttered assuming that the Self is transient. Atha ca, on the other hand, if ( conveys the sense of assumption ); following ordinary experience, manyase, you think; enam, this One, the Self under discussion; is nityajatam, born continually, becomes born with the birth of each of the numerous bodies; va, or; nityam, constantly; mrtam, dies, along with the death of each of these (bodies); tatha api, even then, even if the Self be of that nature; tvam, you; maha-baho, O mighty-armed one; na arhasi, ought not; socitum, to grieve; evam, thus, since that which is subject to birth will die, and that which is subject to death will be born; these two are inevitable.

Swami Adidevananda

2.26 Or if you hold this self as being constantly born and as constantly dying, even then, O mighty-armed one, it does not become you to feel grief.

Swami Gambirananda

2.26 On the other hand, if you think this One is born continually or dies constantly, even then, O mighty-armed one, you ought not to grieve thus.

Swami Sivananda

2.26 But even if thou thinkest of It as being constantly born and constantly dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou shouldst not grieve.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

2.26 अथ now? च and? एनम् this (Self)? नित्यजातम् constantly born? नित्यम् constantly? वा or? मन्यसे thinkest? मृतम् dead? तथापि even then? त्वम् thou? महाबाहो mightyarmed? न not? एवम् thus? शोचितुम् to grieve? अर्हसि (thou) oughtest.Commentary Lord Krishna here? for the sake of argument? takes up the popular supposition. Granting that the Self is again and again born whenever a body comes into being? and again and again dies whenever the body dies? O mightyarmed (O Arjuna of great valour and strength)? thou shouldst not grieve thus? because birth is inevitable to want is dead and death is inevitable to what is born. This is the inexorable or unrelenting Law of Nature.