Bhagavad Gita 2.23

[Paramananda das]

Text 23   nainam chindanti shastrani nainam dahati pavakah na cainam kledayanty apo na sosayati marutah

  Translation  

 The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.   Commentary by Srila Prabhupada   All kinds of weapons—swords, flame weapons, rain weapons, tornado weapons, etc.—are unable to kill the spirit soul. It appears that there were many kinds of weapons made of earth, water, air, ether, etc., in addition to the modern weapons of fire. Even the nuclear weapons of the modern age are classified as fire weapons, but formerly there were other weapons made of all different types of material elements. Firearms were counteracted by water weapons, which are now unknown to modern science. Nor do modern scientists have knowledge of tornado weapons. Nonetheless, the soul can never be cut into pieces, nor annihilated by any number of weapons, regardless of scientific devices.   The Mayavadi cannot explain how the individual soul came into existence simply by ignorance and consequently became covered by illusory energy. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Supreme Soul; rather, the individual souls are eternally separated parts of the Supreme Soul. Because they are atomic individual souls eternally (sanatana), they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire, although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire. In the Varaha Purana, the living entities are described as separated parts and parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to the Bhagavad-gita also. So, even after being liberated from illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna became liberated by the knowledge received from Krishna, but he never became one with Krishna.  

 Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur   Also, it is not possible to injure the soul at all by the weapons used by you in the battle. That is explained in this verse. Weapons such as swords cannot cut it. The fire weapon cannot burn it. The rain weapon cannot wet it, nor can the wind weapon dry it out.

 

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Visnuswami

Sridhara Swami's Commentary

The imperishable nature of the eternal soul is being explicitly proven by showing the impossibility of any means to slay it by these examples in answer to the previous statement of how can the eternal soul be slain in any way?

 

 Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya:

 

Madhvacarya

Madhvacarya's Commentary

In the normal course of events in the material existence although there is no destruction there may appear that some being is destroyed like in the case of Daksa losing his head due to the wrath of Siva. To avoid misinterpretations in this way the Supreme Lord mentions the fact that the soul can not be pierced in any way.

Now begins the summation.

As there is no means for the destruction of the Supreme Lord there is also no means of destruction for the immortal soul.

  Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Ramanuja There is no commentary for this verse.

 Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Nimbaditya

Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary

It could be interjected that just as in a burning house the occupants of the house are burned along with it, so also in the case of the soul if the physical body is burnt or cut might not the soul be burnt or cut as well. To annihilate this misconception the Supreme Lord Krishna expains that never can the soul be cut by weapons, never can the soul be burned by fire, never can the soul be moistened by water and never can the soul be withered by air. Although only one use of the word na meaning never would have been sufficient to establish the premise of utter futility in trying to destroy the soul, it is used four times to strengthen the empasis insuring there is not even the slightest vestige of doubt.