Verses 2.24-25

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verses 2.24-25:

अच्छेद्योऽयम् अदाह्योऽयम् अक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च ।
नित्यः सर्व-गतः स्थाणुर् अचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥ २४ ॥
अव्यक्तोऽयम् अचिन्त्योऽयम् अविकार्योऽयम् उच्यते ।
तस्माद् एवं विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुम् अर्हसि ॥ २५ ॥

acchedyo'yam adāhyo'yam akledyo'śoṣya eva ca |
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo'yaṃ sanātanaḥ || 24 ||
avyakto'yam acintyo'yam avikāryo'yam ucyate |
tasmād evaṃ viditvainaṃ nānuśocitum arhasi || 25 ||

acchedyaḥ–is indivisible; ayam–this (soul); adāhyaḥ–cannot be burned; ayam–this (soul); akledyaḥ–insoluble; aśoṣyaḥ–cannot be dried; eva–certainly;ca–and; nityaḥ–eternal; sarva-gataḥ–even though he goes everywhere; sthāṇuḥ–fixed; acalaḥ–immovable; ayam–this (soul); sanātanaḥ–ever-existing; avyaktaḥ–unmanifest; ayam–this (soul); acintyaḥ–inconceivable (to the mind); ayam–this (soul); avikāryaḥ–not subject to transformation; ayam–this (soul); ucyate–it is said; tasmāt–therefore; evam–in this way; viditvā–having understood; enam–for this (soul); na–not; anuśocitum–to lament; arhasi–befitting.

The soul is indivisible, insoluble and cannot be burned or dried. He is eternal, all-pervading, permanent, non-moving and ever-existing. He is unmanifest and inconceivable, and being free from the six types of transformations such as birth and death, he is immutable. After understanding the soul in this way, it is not proper for you to lament.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

The soul has been described as indivisible and so forth. The repetition of this indicates the eternality of the soul and removes the doubts of those who are uncertain of its nature. If one says three or four times that there is religion, or dharma, in this present age of Kali-yuga, the repetition will lay stress on the fact that, without a doubt, there is indeed dharma in Kali-yuga. Similarly, the soul’s qualities have been repeated to confirm the eternality of his nature. Here, the word sarva-gataḥ (all-pervasive) indicates that due to his own actions, the jīva transmigrates through all species of life such as demigods, human beings, animals and birds.

The words sthāṇuḥ (fixed) and acalaḥ (immovable) have been repeated in order to give a clear conception of the stable nature of the soul. The soul, or jīvātmā, is called avyaktaḥ (imperceptible) because he is very subtle. He is called acintya (inconceivable, not able to be understood by mundane reasoning) because he pervades the whole body as consciousness. He is called avikāryaḥ (immutable) because he is free from the six types of transformations, such as birth and so forth.