Chapter 2 Verse 17

 Verse 17

अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।

 

विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति ॥ १७॥

Transliteration:

avinAshi tu tadviddhi yena sarvamidaM tatam

vinAshamavyayasyAsya na kashcitkartumarhati..17..

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Word-by-word meaning:

अविनाशि – indestructible; तु – indeed; तत् – that; विद्धि – know; येन – by which; सर्वं – everything; इदं – thus; ततम् – pervades; विनाशम् – destruction अव्ययस्य – of the indestructible; अस्य – of this; न – not; कश्चित् – any; कर्तुम् – to do; अर्हसि – fit;

Meaning:

Indeed, know that that which pervades everything, is indestructible. No one can destruct this which is imperishable.

Significance:

The soul is indestructible, imperishable, all pervading. There may arise a question on where the soul resides in the body ? Again , if it resides in a particular place how it is called all-pervading ? For the first question – our Upanishads gives the answer. The soul resides in the heart . In Chandogya Upanishad we have the statement - sa vā eṣha ātmā hṛidi  Also in Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says He resides in the heart of every being. Coming to the next question, if Soul resides at one place in the body who can it be all pervading, it can be explained with an example. A flower is in a branch of a plant in a garden. But its fragrance pervades all through the garden. Thus, the soul pervades the body by pervading its consciousness.