Chapter II · Śloka 26
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् |
तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ||
तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ||
atha cainaṃ nitya-jātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam |
tathāpi tvaṃ mahā-bāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
tathāpi tvaṃ mahā-bāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
If, however, you think that the soul is perpetually born and perpetually dies, still you have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.
Krishna concedes an alternative view — even if one believes the self is perishable — and shows that grief is unwarranted even then. Birth and death are the inevitable rhythm of existence, and the wise do not lament what is inherent in all life.