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 ||
दो अक्षर का ‘मम’ (यह मेरा है) मृत्यु-स्वरूप है, और तीन अक्षर का ‘न मम’ (यह मेरा नहीं) शाश्वत ब्रह्म की ओर ले जाने वाला है। ‘मेरा’ मृत्यु देता है; ‘मेरा नहीं’ सनातन को देता है।
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.”