Shloka 21
कर्मयोग–ज्ञानयज्ञ–अवतारोपदेश
Karma-Yoga, Jñāna-Yajña, and Avatāra Instruction
वेदाविनाशिन नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम् । कथं स पुरुष: पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम्
vedāvināśinaṁ nityaṁ ya enam ajam avyayam | kathaṁ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam ||
噢，帕尔塔（普丽塔之子）啊！若有人知此真我不可毁、常住、无生、不变——他怎能令他人被杀，又怎能亲手杀人？
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
If the Self (ātman) is truly indestructible, eternal, unborn, and unchanging, then in the deepest sense it is not an object of killing. Real knowledge dissolves the notion of being a literal slayer of the Self; ethical action must be guided by dharma and clarity, not by grief and delusion about what truly perishes.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra crisis, instruction is directed to Arjuna (addressed as Pārtha). The verse challenges his fear of ‘killing’ by asserting the metaphysical distinction between the perishable body and the imperishable Self, preparing him to act according to duty without hatred or despair.