Chapter II · Śloka 20
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः |
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ||
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः |
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ||
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhaviṭā vā na bhūyaḥ |
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṃ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ||
nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhaviṭā vā na bhūyaḥ |
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṃ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ||
This is never born, nor does it ever die; nor having once been, does it again cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.
Among the most celebrated verses of the Gītā, this is the quintessential statement of ātman-doctrine: six negatives (unborn, undying, unbecome, unceasable, eternal, ancient) strip away every attribute that makes things fragile and mortal.