Shloka 16
Chapter 43: Tumult of Battle-Sounds and the Proliferation of Dvandva
Paired Engagements
सम्बन्ध-- पहलेसे छठे श्लोकतक वृक्षरूपसे संसारका; दृढ़ वैराग्यके द्वारा उसके छेदनका
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca | kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭastho 'kṣara ucyate ||
Arjuna said: “In this world there are two kinds of ‘persons’: the perishable and the imperishable. All embodied beings, as bodies subject to change and decay, are called the perishable; but the inner, unshaken Self that stands as witness is called the imperishable.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes two levels of identity: the perishable (all embodied forms and changing conditions) and the imperishable (the steadfast inner Self, kūṭastha). Ethical clarity arises when one acts from the standpoint of the imperishable rather than being driven by transient fear, gain, or loss.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra teaching, the speaker summarizes earlier analysis of the ‘aśvattha’ world-tree and then condenses the doctrine into a clear classification: perishable embodied existence versus the imperishable witnessing Self, preparing for the subsequent elevation of the Supreme Person (puruṣottama).