Shloka 29
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 ||
দুই অক্ষরের ‘মম’ (এটা আমার) মৃত্যু-স্বরূপ; আর তিন অক্ষরের ‘ন মম’ (এটা আমার নয়) শাশ্বত ব্রহ্ম। ‘আমার’ বললে মৃত্যু; ‘আমার নয়’ বললে চিরন্তন।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.”