Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Bhagavad Gita 2.13: Dehinosminyatha dehe kaumaram

Krishna explains: the one who lives in the body passes through childhood, youth and old age in this body.

Bhagavad Gita 2.13

दे­हि­नोऽ­स्मि­न्य­था देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा ।तथा दे­हा­न्त­र­प्रा­प्ति­र्धी­र­स्त­त्र न मुह्यति ॥

De­hi­nos­min­ya­tha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara
Tatha de­han­ta­rap­rap­tir­dhi­ras­tat­ra na muhyati

de­hi­no’s­min­ya­thā dehe kaumāraṃ yauvanaṃ jarā |
tathā de­hān­ta­rap­rāp­tir­dhī­ras­tat­ra na muhyati ||

Our meaning Krishna explains: the one who lives in the body passes through childhood, youth and old age in this body. In the same way it passes on to another body. A steady, wise person is not confused by this.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण समझाते हैं कि जैसे देह में रहने वाली आत्मा इसी शरीर में बचपन, जवानी और बुढ़ापा पाती है, वैसे ही वह दूसरा शरीर भी पाती है। धीर व्यक्ति इससे मोह में नहीं पड़ता।

Word by word

Every word, with its dictionary page

Word by word

  1. देहिनः dehinaḥ of the embodied one (noun (masculine), genitive singular) Dictionary: dehin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 497, col. 1 m. the spirit, soul
  2. अस्मिन् asmin in this (pronoun (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: 1. idam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 2
  3. यथा yathā as (indeclinable) Dictionary: yathā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 841, col. 2 in which manner or way, according as, as, like
  4. देहे dehe in the body (noun (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: deha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 496, col. 3 the body
  5. कौमारम् kaumāram childhood (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: kaumāra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 316, col. 2 juvenile, youthful, belonging to a youth
  6. यौवनम् yauvanam youth (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: yauvana, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 859, col. 2 youth
  7. जरा jarā old age (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: jarā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 413, col. 3 the act of becoming old, old age
  8. तथा tathā so, in the same way (indeclinable) Dictionary: tathā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 3 in that manner, so, thus
  9. देहान्तरप्राप्तिः dehāntaraprāptiḥ gaining another body (compound (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: dehāntara-prāpti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 497, col. 1 obtaining another b°, transmigration
  10. धीरः dhīraḥ the steady, wise person (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: 2. dhīra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 517, col. 1 steady, constant, firm, resolute, brave
  11. तत्र tatra in that (indeclinable) Dictionary: tatra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 2 in that, therein, in that case
  12. न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 ind. not, no, nor, neither
  13. मुह्यति muhyati is bewildered (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. muh, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 825, col. 1 to become stupefied or unconscious, be bewildered or perplexed

Public-domain translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 44.

As in this body, infancy and youth and old age (come) to the embodied (self)1, so does the acquisition of another body; a sensible man is not deceived about that.

  1. A common word in the Gîtâ, that which presides over each individual body. ↩
English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 44, scan leaf n57). Shown verbatim.
Compare 3 translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 44.

As in this body, infancy and youth and old age (come) to the embodied (self)1, so does the acquisition of another body; a sensible man is not deceived about that.

  1. A common word in the Gîtâ, that which presides over each individual body. ↩
English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 44, scan leaf n57). Shown verbatim.

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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 27.

As the Dweller in the body seeketh in the body childhood, youth and old age, so passeth he on to another body; the well-balanced grieveth not thereat.

English translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895); public domain. archive.org (page 27, scan leaf n33). Shown verbatim.

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Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 79.

As are childhood, youth, and old age, in this body, to the Indweller, so also is the reaching forth to another body. Recollected souls are not deluded thereat.

English translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909); public domain. archive.org (page 79, scan leaf PB Apr 1907, PDF p. 20). Shown verbatim.

You are reading this one

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep with AI help and reviewed. Source and changes

Questions families ask

Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 2.13?

Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 2 (Sankhya Yoga).

Where does the Sanskrit text come from?

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep with AI help and reviewed. See the source

Is the meaning on this page a translation?

Explanation written for this site with AI help from the sources listed here, and reviewed. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.

Source and licence

Sanskrit text
The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
Translation
The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Translation
The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Sanskrit text
Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Used only to date the text. The Devanagari on this page is a reading text and is not copied from this printing.
Common wording
In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Our explanation
Explanation written for this site with AI help from the sources listed here, and reviewed. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Review
AI review: 2 independent reviews against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.

Sources and licences

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