Verse 2.23

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.23:

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्य् आपो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥ २३ ॥

nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ |
na cainaṃ kledayanty āpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ || 23 ||

na–not; enam–him (the jīvātmā); chindanti–pierce; śastrāṇi–various weapons;na–not; enam–him; dahati–burn; pāvakaḥ–fire; na–not; ca–and; enam–him; kledayanti–moisten; āpaḥ–waters; na–not; śoṣayati–dry; mārutaḥ–the wind.

The soul can never be pierced by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water nor dried by the wind.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

“O Arjuna, the weapons used by you in battle cannot cause any pain or misery to the soul.” To explain this, Śrī Bhagavān is speaking this verse beginning with nainam. Here the word śastrāṇi means ‘swords, etc.’, pāvakaḥ means ‘the fire weapon’, āpaḥ, ‘the water weapon’ and mārutaḥ, ‘the air weapon’. “O Arjuna, even if you use all these weapons, they will not cause any pain to the soul.”