Chapter 2 · Knowledge of the Self
Bhagavad Gita 2.23
Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it.
Shri Bhagavan
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ / na cainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Weapons do not cut it. Fire does not burn it. Water does not wet it. Wind does not dry it.
हिंदी · इसे शस्त्र नहीं काटते, अग्नि नहीं जलाती, जल नहीं भिगोता, और वायु नहीं सुखाती।
What it means
Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it.
Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, wind does not dry it.
This is the Trust’s own reading, written for this site. The verse above it is the text.
Where this verse stands
The Self and the changing body
Chapter 22.11–30
Krishna establishes the enduring Self and challenges grief grounded in mistaking the perishable for the whole person.
This verse belongs to the middle development of the movement.
Common questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 2.23 mean?
Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it. Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, wind does not dry it.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 2.23?
Shri Bhagavan. The speaker is taken from the text’s own उवाच line as transcribed, not inferred from the verse number.