Shloka 22
अध्वर्यु–यति संवादः
Adhvaryu–Yati Dialogue on Svabhāva, Ahiṃsā, and Mokṣa
यतिरुवाच अक्षरं च क्षरं चैव द्वैधीभावो5यमात्मन: । अक्षरं तत्र सद्भाव: स्वभाव: क्षर उच्यते,यतिने कहा--आत्माके दो रूप हैं--एक अक्षर और दूसरा क्षर। जिसकी सत्ता तीनों कालोंमें कभी नहीं मिटती वह सत्स्वरूप अक्षर (अविनाशी) कहा गया है तथा जिसका सर्वथा और सभी कालोंमें अभाव है, वह क्षर कहलाता है
yatir uvāca—akṣaraṃ ca kṣaraṃ caiva dvaidhībhāvo ’yam ātmanaḥ | akṣaraṃ tatra sadbhāvaḥ svabhāvaḥ kṣara ucyate ||
The ascetic said: “The Self is spoken of as having a twofold mode—imperishable and perishable. That which truly exists and is never destroyed in any of the three times is called the Imperishable. But that whose nature is sheer non-being—lacking reality altogether in every time—is called the Perishable.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes two ways of speaking about the Self: the imperishable (akṣara), identified with true, enduring being, and the perishable (kṣara), associated with what lacks lasting reality. Ethically, it directs attention away from transient appearances toward what is stable and truly existent.
A renunciant (yati) is instructing the listener in a philosophical discourse, defining key metaphysical categories—imperishable and perishable—to frame a deeper inquiry into the nature of the Self and reality.