Bhagavad GitaBhagavad Gita 2.22
Chapter 2, verse 22: the Sanskrit, the Roman letters, the meaning and what it is used for.
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही
vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro'parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānyanyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī
Meaning
As a person puts on new clothes, giving up the old and worn ones, so the embodied self takes on new bodies, giving up the old and worn ones.
Explanation
The image of the garment is the best known in the Gita. It does not say the body is unimportant; it says the body is worn by someone. The comparison is gentle and practical: nobody grieves for a coat that has worn out, and the verse asks the listener to look at death in the same way. It is paired with 2.13 and 2.20 in the chain of verses that ground Krishna's answer to grief.
Where it fits
This is verse 22 of 72 in chapter 2, "The wisdom of the self and of steady action" (Sankhya Yoga). previous verse (2.21) · next verse (2.23)
Read more on this theme
Related verses
Questions people ask
What does Bhagavad Gita 2.22 mean?
As a person puts on new clothes, giving up the old and worn ones, so the embodied self takes on new bodies, giving up the old and worn ones.
Where is this verse?
It is verse 22 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.