Bhagavad GitaBhagavad Gita 2.13
Chapter 2, verse 13: the Sanskrit, the Roman letters, the meaning and what it is used for.
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति
dehino'sminyathā dehe kaumāraṃ yauvanaṃ jarā
tathā dehāntaraprāptirdhīrastatra na muhyati
Meaning
As the embodied one passes in this body through childhood, youth and old age, so it passes into another body. The steady person is not confused by this.
Explanation
Krishna uses a fact everyone has seen: the child you were and the person you are now share nothing in the body, and yet you feel you are the same "I". If that sameness can run through such different bodies, he argues, death is only one more change in a long series. This verse is the start of the teaching on the self and one of the most quoted on grief.
Where it fits
This is verse 13 of 72 in chapter 2, "The wisdom of the self and of steady action" (Sankhya Yoga). previous verse (2.12) · next verse (2.14)
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Questions people ask
What does Bhagavad Gita 2.13 mean?
As the embodied one passes in this body through childhood, youth and old age, so it passes into another body. The steady person is not confused by this.
Where is this verse?
It is verse 13 of chapter 2 (The wisdom of the self and of steady action), which has 72 verses.
Meanings and explanations are our own wording, not an authorised translation. Readers of the Gita follow different traditions and teachers; please ask yours about what you read here.