Bhagavad Gita · Sankhya YogaChapter 2, Shloka 25 (2.25)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते
तस्मादेवं विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुमर्हसि
॥ 2.25 ॥
avyakto'yamacintyo'yamavikāryo'yamucyate
tasmādevaṃ viditvainaṃ nānuśocitumarhasi
Translation
"This (self) is said to be unmanifest (invisible to the senses), unthinkable (beyond the grasp of the mind) and unchanging. Therefore, knowing it to be so, you should not grieve."
Interpretation
Three more adjectives — the limits of knowledge.
- Avyakta — beyond the grasp of the senses. Eye, ear, hand — none can grasp it as an object.
- Acintya — beyond the imagination of the mind. Whatever we imagine is based on things known through the senses; the self is not like that.
- Avikārya — free of change. Shankaracharya's example: milk becomes curd with a culture — it changes; the self does not change like that, because it has no parts.
The progression of knowledge. First the self was shown to be beyond physical destruction (2.23–2.24); now it is beyond even the means of knowing (senses, mind). That is, the self is not known like an "object" — it is the ground of all knowing (see "aprameya" in 2.18).
"Tasmāt… na anuśocitum arhasi" — therefore do not grieve. The conclusion of the whole section: for that which does not change, does not perish, and which nothing can touch — how can there be grief?
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.