Shloka 25
कर्मयोग–ज्ञानयज्ञ–अवतारोपदेश
Karma-Yoga, Jñāna-Yajña, and Avatāra Instruction
भीष्मपर्वणि तु पञ्चविंशो5ध्याय:ः
avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam avikāryo ’yam ucyate | tasmād evaṁ viditvainaṁ nānuśocitum arhasi ||
Sanjaya said: “This Self is said to be unmanifest, beyond the reach of thought, and incapable of change. Therefore, knowing it in this way, you ought not to grieve for it.” In the ethical setting of the battlefield, the teaching redirects Arjuna from sorrow rooted in bodily loss to steadiness grounded in the imperishable nature of the Self, urging clarity of duty without inner collapse.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self (Ātman) is unmanifest, inconceivable, and unchangeable; therefore grief based on the idea of its destruction is misplaced. Right understanding steadies the mind and supports righteous action without despair.
Within the Bhīṣma Parva’s battlefield discourse, Sanjaya reports the teaching that reframes Arjuna’s sorrow: the true Self is not altered by death or change, so lamentation is not warranted.