Bhagavad Gita · Sankhya YogaChapter 2, Shloka 23 (2.23)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः
॥ 2.23 ॥
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Translation
"Weapons cannot cut this (self), fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it."
Interpretation
Four ways of destruction — all four closed. Every substance we know is destroyed in some way — by cutting, burning, soaking or drying. Krishna says: none of these works on the self. For Arjuna the most direct point is "shastrani" — even your arrows cannot cut it.
Shankaracharya's argument — "niravayava". Weapons cut by separating the parts of a thing; water wets something made of parts and separates those parts; wind dries out the moisture of something wet and destroys it. The self is niravayava (without parts) — so these actions cannot possibly have any effect on it.
Poetry and philosophy. The shloka has a rhythm — "na… na… na ca… na…". This repetition settles a certainty in the listener's mind. Many people memorise and recite this shloka.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.