Adhyāya 51: Kṛṣṇa’s Leave-Taking and Departure for Dvārakā (द्वारकागमनानुमति)
द्वयक्षरस्तु भवेन्मृत्युस्त्रयक्षरं ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् । ममेति च भवेन्मृत्युर्न ममेति च शाश्वतम्
dvayakṣaras tu bhaven mṛtyus trayakṣaraṃ brahma śāśvatam | mameti ca bhaven mṛtyur na mameti ca śāśvatam ||
قال فايُو: «اللفظ ذو المقطعين يصير موتًا، أمّا القول ذو المقاطع الثلاثة فهو البراهمان الأزلي. “لي” يفضي إلى الموت، و“ليس لي” يفضي إلى الباقي الذي لا يفنى.»
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse teaches that possessiveness—expressed as “mama” (“mine”)—binds one to mortality and suffering, whereas the attitude of non-appropriation—“na mama” (“not mine”)—aligns the mind with the eternal (śāśvata) Brahman. It is an ethical and spiritual instruction to loosen ego-based ownership and cultivate detachment.
In this passage, Vāyudeva speaks a concise doctrinal maxim. Rather than describing an external action, the narrative moment functions as instruction: a divine speaker distills a moral psychology of bondage and liberation through the contrast between “mine” and “not mine.”