Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna
Bhagavad Gita 2.17: Avinashi tu tadviddhi yena
Krishna says that what pervades this whole world cannot be destroyed.
Bhagavad Gita 2.17
अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति ॥
Avinashi tu tadviddhi yena sarvamidam tatam
Vinashamavyayasyasya na kashchitkartumarhati
avināśi tu tadviddhi yena sarvamidaṃ tatam |
vināśamavyayasyāsya na kaścitkartumarhati ||
Our meaning Krishna says that what pervades this whole world cannot be destroyed. No one can bring about the end of what is imperishable.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जिससे यह सारा जगत व्याप्त है, वह अविनाशी है। उस अविनाशी का नाश कोई नहीं कर सकता।
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- अविनाशि avināśi indestructible (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-vināśin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 109, col. 1
imperishable
- तु tu but (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. tu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 449, col. 3
but
- तत् tat that (pronoun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1
m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this
- विद्धि viddhi know (imperative, 2nd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 963, col. 2
to know, understand, perceive, learn
- येन yena by which (pronoun (neuter), instrumental singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2
who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that
- सर्वम् sarvam all (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3
whole, entire, all, every
- इदम् idam this (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. idam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 2
- ततम् tatam is pervaded (past participle (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: 2. tata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 435, col. 1
extended, stretched, spread, diffused, expanded
- विनाशम् vināśam destruction (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: vi-nāśa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 969, col. 3
utter loss, annihilation, perdition, destruction, decay
- अव्ययस्य avyayasya of the imperishable (adjective (neuter), genitive singular) Dictionary: 2. a-vyaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 111, col. 3
not liable to change, imperishable, undecaying
- अस्य asya of this (pronoun (neuter), genitive singular) Dictionary: 1. idam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 2
- न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1
ind. not, no, nor, neither
- कश्चित् kaścit anyone (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: kim, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 282, col. 2
what? how? whence? wherefore? why?
- कर्तुम् kartum to bring about (infinitive (to do)) Dictionary: 1. kṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 301, col. 1
to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare
- अर्हति arhati is able (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: arh, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 93, col. 3
to be able
Public-domain translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 44.
Know that to be indestructible which pervades all this; the destruction of that inexhaustible (principle) none can bring about.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 44.
Know that to be indestructible which pervades all this; the destruction of that inexhaustible (principle) none can bring about.
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 27–28.
Know THAT to be indestructible by Whom all this is pervaded. Nor can any work the destruction of that Imperishable One.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 34.
That by which all this is pervaded,—That know for certain to be indestructible. None has the power to destroy this Immutable.
You are reading this one
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Bhagavad Gita 2.17
अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।
विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति ॥
“Know that to be indestructible which pervades all this; the destruction of that inexhaustible (principle) none can bring about.”
(Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882, public domain)
“Know THAT to be indestructible by Whom all this is pervaded. Nor can any work the destruction of that Imperishable One.”
(Annie Besant, 1895, public domain)
“That by which all this is pervaded,—That know for certain to be indestructible. None has the power to destroy this Immutable.”
(Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907), public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/2/17/?s=copy Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes Telang (1882). If you chose another translation above, the text quotes yours and no picture is offered.
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 2.17?
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.