जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च |
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि || 27||
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛityur dhruvaṁ janma mṛitasya cha
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe na tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi
jātasya—for one who has been born; hi—for; dhruvaḥ—certain; mṛityuḥ—death; dhruvam—certain; janma—birth; mṛitasya—for the dead; cha—and; tasmāt—therefore; aparihārye arthe—in this inevitable situation; na—not; tvam—you; śhochitum—lament; arhasi—befitting
Translation:
For to that which is born, death is certain, and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore you should not grieve over the unavoidable.
Commentary:
The Lord continues the argument. For that which is born, there is death, and for that which dies there is birth. This is the unalterable law for the body and all material things. The Self (Atma) as declared above, is not the body and is not the composition of material elements, and so it has neither birth nor death. So long as man remains in a state of ignorance and identifies with the body, he inevitably passes through the cycle of birth and death. The same man, when he realises his identity with the Self, the procession of birth and death stops for him. The Lord here speaks of the common man who has not understood the secret of his real nature. The purpose of the Lord is to rouse Arjuna from the slough of despondency into which he sank in that hour of test and trial. So He employs every argument both of spiritual Truth and common understanding with equal force and conviction. But the ultimate spiritual law remains unchanged by the mundane considerations brought forward to drive home a particular aspect of the Truth.
