Shloka 29
Adhyāya 51: Kṛṣṇa’s Leave-Taking and Departure for Dvārakā (द्वारकागमनानुमति)
द्वयक्षरस्तु भवेन्मृत्युस्त्रयक्षरं ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् । ममेति च भवेन्मृत्युर्न ममेति च शाश्वतम्,दो अक्षरका पद “मम” (यह मेरा है--ऐसा भाव) मृत्युरूप है और तीन अक्षरका पद “न मम' (यह मेरा नहीं है--ऐसा भाव) सनातन ब्रह्मकी प्राप्ति करानेवाला है
dvayakṣaras tu bhaven mṛtyus trayakṣaraṃ brahma śāśvatam | mameti ca bhaven mṛtyur na mameti ca śāśvatam ||
Vāyu said: “The two-syllabled notion becomes death, while the three-syllabled utterance is the eternal Brahman. ‘Mine’ leads to death; ‘not mine’ leads to what is everlasting.” In ethical force, the verse condemns possessiveness and egoic appropriation as the root of bondage and mortality, and praises non-possessiveness as the inner stance that opens one to the imperishable reality.
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.”