Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna
Bhagavad Gita 2.23: Nainam chhindanti shastrani
Krishna says that weapons cannot cut the self.
Bhagavad Gita 2.23
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
Nainam chhindanti shastrani nainam dahati pavakah
Na chainam kledayantyapo na shoshayati marutah
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ |
na cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ ||
Our meaning Krishna says that weapons cannot cut the self. Fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि शस्त्र आत्मा को काट नहीं सकते, आग उसे जला नहीं सकती, पानी उसे गीला नहीं कर सकता, और हवा उसे सुखा नहीं सकती।
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1
ind. not, no, nor, neither
- एनम् enam this (Self) (pronoun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. ena, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 1
he, she, it; this, that
- छिन्दन्ति chindanti cut (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: 1. chid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 406, col. 2
to cut off, amputate, cut through
- शस्त्राणि śastrāṇi weapons (noun (neuter), nominative plural) Dictionary: 2. śastra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1060, col. 3
an instrument for cutting or wounding, knife, sword, dagger, any weapon
- न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1
ind. not, no, nor, neither
- एनम् enam this (pronoun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. ena, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 1
he, she, it; this, that
- दहति dahati burns (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. dah, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 473, col. 2
to burn, consume by fire, scorch, roast
- पावकः pāvakaḥ fire (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: pāvaka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 623, col. 2
fire or the god of fire
- न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1
ind. not, no, nor, neither
- च ca and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1
ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as
- एनम् enam this (pronoun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. ena, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 1
he, she, it; this, that
- क्लेदयन्ति kledayanti make wet (causative, present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: klid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 323, col. 3
to bedew, wet, moisten
- आपः āpaḥ waters (noun (feminine), nominative plural) Dictionary: 2. ap, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 47, col. 3
water
- न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1
ind. not, no, nor, neither
- शोषयति śoṣayati dries (causative, present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. śuṣ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1084, col. 3
to make dry, dry up, wither, parch
- मारुतः mārutaḥ wind (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: māruta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 812, col. 1
wind, air, the god of wind
Public-domain translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 45.
Weapons do not divide it (into pieces); fire does not burn it; waters do not moisten it; the wind does not dry it up.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 45.
Weapons do not divide it (into pieces); fire does not burn it; waters do not moisten it; the wind does not dry it up.
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 29.
Weapons cleave It not, nor fire burneth It, nor waters wet It, nor wind drieth It away.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 37.
This (Self), weapons cut not; This, fire burns not; This, water wets not; and This, wind dries not.
You are reading this one
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Bhagavad Gita 2.23
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
“Weapons do not divide it (into pieces); fire does not burn it; waters do not moisten it; the wind does not dry it up.”
(Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882, public domain)
“Weapons cleave It not, nor fire burneth It, nor waters wet It, nor wind drieth It away.”
(Annie Besant, 1895, public domain)
“This (Self), weapons cut not; This, fire burns not; This, water wets not; and This, wind dries not.”
(Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907), public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/2/23/?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 2.23?
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.