Bhagavad Gita The Song of God

Commentary by Swami Mukundananda

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िहं दी !"# ଓଡ଼ିଆ !"#$%&' !"#

English

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 17

अिवनािश तु तिद्विद्ध येन सवर्िमदं ततम् |

िवनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न किश्चत्कतुर्महर्ित || 17||

avināśhi tu tadviddhi yena sarvam idaṁ

tatam
vināśham avyayasyāsya na kaśhchit kartum
arhati

0:00 -0:20

avināśhi— indestructible ; tu— indeed ; tat—

that ; viddhi— know ; yena— by whom ;
sarvam— entire ; idam— this ; tatam—
pervaded ; vināśham— destruction ; avyayasya
— of the imperishable ; asya— of it ; na
kaśhchit— no one ; kartum— to cause ; arhati
— is able

avinashi tu tadviddhi yena sarvam idam tatam

vinasham avyayasyasya na kashchit kartum arhati

Translation

BG 2.17: That which pervades the entire

body, know it to be indestructible. No one
can cause the destruction of the imperishable
soul.

Commentary

Shree Krishna establishes the relationship

between the body and the soul, by saying that
the soul pervades the body. What does he mean
by this? The soul is sentient, i.e. it possesses
consciousness. The body is made from
insentient matter, devoid of consciousness.
However, the soul passes on the quality of
consciousness to the body as well, by residing
in it. Hence, the soul pervades the body by
spreading its consciousness everywhere in it.

Some raise a question here regarding the

location of the soul. The Vedas state that the
soul resides in the heart:

hṛidi hyeṣha ātmā (Praśhnopaniṣhad 3.6) [v18]

sa vā eṣha ātmā hṛidi (Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad
8.3.3) [v19]

The word hṛidi indicates that the soul is seated

in the region of the heart. Yet, consciousness,
which is the symptom of the soul, spreads
throughout the body. How does this happen?
Ved Vyas explains this concept as follows:

avirodhaśhchandanavat (Brahma Sūtra 2.3.23)

[v20]

“Just as applying sandalwood to your forehead

cools the entire body, similarly, the soul,
although residing locally in the heart, infuses its
consciousness throughout the body.”

Again, someone may ask that if consciousness

is a characteristic of the soul, then how does it
spread into the body? This question has also
been answered by Ved Vyas:

vyaktireko gandhavat (Brahma Sūtra 2.3.26)

[v21]

“Fragrance is a quality of the flower. But the

garden where the flower grows also becomes
fragrant.” This means that the flower is able to
pass on its fragrant quality to the garden.
Likewise, the soul is sentient, and it also makes
the dead matter of the body sentient, by
pervading its consciousness in it.

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