BhG 2.24

acchedyo ‘yam adāhyo ‘yam akledyo ‘śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo ‘yaṃ sanātanaḥ

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analysis

syntax

ayam (he) acchedyaḥ (not to be cut) [asti] (is),
ayam (he) adāhyaḥ (not to be burnt) [asti] (is),
[ayam] (he) akledyaḥ (not to be moistened) [asti] (is),
[ayam] ca (and he) aśoṣyaḥ eva (indeed not to be dried up) [asti] (is).
ayam (he) nityaḥ (permanent), sarva-gataḥ (all-pervading), sthāṇuḥ (firm) acalaḥ (unmoving), sanātanaḥ (primeval) [asti] (is).

grammar

acchedyaḥ	–	a-cchedya (√chid – to cut, to divide) PF 1n.1 m. – not to be cut;
ayam	–	idam sn. 1n.1 m. – he;
adāhyaḥ	–	a-dāhya (√dah – to burn) PF 1n.1 m. – not to be burnt;
ayam	–	idam sn. 1n.1 m. – he;
akledyaḥ	–	a-kledya (√klid – to be wet) PF 1n.1 m. – not to be moistened;
aśoṣyaḥ	–	a-śoṣya (√śuṣ – to dry up) PF 1n.1 m. – not to be dried up;
eva	–	av. – certainly, just, merely;
ca	–	av. – and;
nityaḥ	–	nitya 1n.1 m. – continual, eternal;
sarvagataḥ	–	sarva-gata 1n.1 m.; TP: sarvatra gata iti – gone everywhere, all-pervading (from: sarva – all, whole; √gam – to go, PP gata – gone);
sthāṇuḥ	–	sthāṇu 1n.1 m. – firm, stationary (from: √sthā – to stand);
acalaḥ	–	a-cala 1n.1 m. – unmoving (from: √cal – to move, to shake, cala – moving, shaking);
ayam	–	idam sn. 1n.1 m. – he;
sanātanaḥ	–	sanātana 1n.1 m. – eternal, primeval;

textual variants

sarvagataḥ → satata-gaḥ / sarva-gata- / sarvatra-gaḥ (always moving / gone everywhere / going into everything);

commentaries

Śāṃkara

The key:
an excerpt from the commented verse
quotes from the scriptures
starting polemic

Wherefore:		yata evaṃ tasmāt –
He cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor wetted, nor dried up. He is everlasting, all-pervading, stable, firm, and eternal.		*acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca* \| nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo ’yaṃ sanātanaḥ \|\|2.24\|\|
Because the mutually destructive objects – namely, swords and the like – cannot destroy the Self, therefore He is everlasting.		yasmāt anyonya-nāśa-hetu-bhūtāni enam ātmānaṃ nāśayituṃ notsahante asyādīni tasmāt nityaḥ \|
Because everlasting, He is all-pervading. Because all-pervading, He is stable like a pillar. Because stable, the Self is firm. Wherefore He is eternal, not produced out of any cause, not new.		nityatvāt sarvagataḥ \| sarva-gatatvāt sthāṇur* iva, sthira ity etat* \| sthiratvāt acalo ’yam* ātmā* \| ataḥ sanātanaś* cirantanaḥ, na kāraṇāt kutaścin niṣpannaḥ, abhinava ity arthaḥ* \|
No charge of tautology can be brought against the verses (ii. 21-24) on the ground that in 2.20 the eternality and the immutability of the Self have been taught and that what has been said regarding the Self in these verses (ii. 21-24) adds nothing to what was taught in that one verse, – something being repeated verbatim, and something more being repeated in idea.		naiteṣāṃ ślokānāṃ paunaruktyaṃ codanīyam \| yataḥ ekenaiva ślokān ātmanaḥ nityatvam avikriyatvaṃ coktaṃ na jāyate mriyate vā (BhG 2.20) ity ādinā \| tatra yad eva ātma-viṣayaṃ kiṃcid ucyate, tad etasmāt ślokārthād nātiricyate \| kiṃcic chabdataḥ punaruktam, kiṃcid arthataḥ iti \|
Since the Self is a thing very difficult to understand, Lord Vāsudeva again and again introduces the subject and describes the same thing n other words, so that in some way or other the truth may be grasped by the intellect of the mortals (samsārins) and thus the cessation of their samsāra may be brought about.		durbodhatvāt ātma-vastunaḥ punaḥ punaḥ prasaṅgam āpādya śabdāntareṇa tad eva vastu nirūpayati bhagavān vāsudevaḥ kathaṃ nu nāma saṃsāriṇām asaṃsāritva-buddhi-gocaratām āpannaṃ sat avyaktaṃ tattvaṃ saṃsāra-nivṛttaye syāt iti \|\|2.24\|\|

Rāmānuja

punar api avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṃ tatam [gītā 2.17] iti pūrvoktam avināśitvaṃ sukha-grahaṇāya vyajayan draḍhayati—nainam iti | śastrāgny-ambu-vāyavaḥ chedana-dahana-kledana-śoṣaṇāni ātmānaṃ prati kartuṃ na śaknuvanti | sarva-gatatvād ātmanaḥ sarva-tattva-vyāpaka-svabhāvatayā sarvebhyas tattvebhyaḥ sūkṣmatvād asya tair vyāpty-anarhatvād vyāpya-kartavyatvāc ca chedana-dahana-kledana-śoṣaṇānām | ata ātmā nityaḥ sthāṇuḥ acalo’yaṃ sanātanaḥ sthira-svabhāvo’prakampyaḥ purātanaś ca

Śrīdhara

Madhusūdana

śastrādīnāṃ tan-nāśakatvāsāmarthye tasya taj-janita-nāśānarhatve hetum āha acchedya iti | yato ‚cchedyo ‚yam ato nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi | adāhyo ‚yaṃ yato ‚to nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ | yato ‚kledyo ‚yam ato nainaṃ kledayanty āpaḥ | yato ‚śoṣyo ‚yam ato nainaṃ śoṣayati māruta iti krameṇa yojanīyam | eva-kāraḥ pratyekaṃ sambadhyamāno ‚cchedyatvādy-avadhāraṇārthaḥ | caḥ samuccaye hetau vā | chedādy-anarhatve hetum āhottarārdhena |
nityo ‚yaṃ pūrvāpara-koṭi-rahito ‚to ‚nutpādyaḥ | asarvagatatve hy anityatvaṃ syāt | yāvad-vikāraṃ tu vibhāgaḥ iti nyāyāt parābhyupagata-paramāṇv-ādīnām anabhyupagamāt | ayaṃ tu sarva-gato vibhur ato nitya eva | etena prāpyatvaṃ parākṛtam | yadi cāyaṃ vikārī syāt tadā sarva-gato na syāt | ayaṃ tu sthāṇur avikārī | ataḥ sarva-gata eva | etena vikāryatvam apākṛtam | yadi cāyaṃ calaḥ kriyāvān syāt tadā vikārī syād ghaṭādivat | ayaṃ tv acalo ‚to na vikārī | etena saṃskāryatvaṃ nirākṛtam | pūrvāvasthā-parityāgenāvasthāntarāpattir vikriyā | avasthaikye ‚pi calana-mātraṃ kriyeti viśeṣaḥ | yasmād evaṃ tasmāt sanātano ‚yaṃ sarvadaika-rūpo na kasyā api kriyāyāḥ karmety arthaḥ | utpatty-āpti-vikṛti-saṃskṛty-anyatara-kriyā-phala-yoge hi karmatvaṃ syāt | ayaṃ tu nityatvān notpādyaḥ | anityasyaiva ghaṭāder utpādyatvāt | sarvagatatvān na prāpyaḥ paricchinnasyaiva paya-ādeḥ prāpyatvāt | sthāṇutvād avikāryaḥ | vikriyāvato ghṛtāder eva vikāryatvāt | acalatvād asaṃskāryaḥ sakriyasyaiva darpaṇādeḥ saṃskāryatvāt | tathā ca śrutayaḥ – ākāśavat sarva-gataś ca nityaḥ [ChāU 3.14.3], vṛkṣa iva stabdho divi tiṣṭhaty ekaḥ [ŚvetU 3.9], niṣkalaṃ niṣkriyaṃ śāntaṃ [ŚvetU 6.19], ity ādayaḥ | yaḥ pṛthivyāṃ tiṣṭhan pṛthivyā antaro yo ‚psu tiṣṭhann adbhyo ‚ntaro yas tejasi tiṣṭhaṃs tejaso ‚ntaro yo vāyau tiṣṭan vāyor antaraḥ [BAU 3.7.3 ff] ity ādyā ca śrutiḥ sarvagatasya sarvāntaryāmitayā tad-aviṣayatvaṃ darśayati | yo hi śastrādau na tiṣṭhati taṃ śastrādayaś chindanti | ayaṃ tu śastrādīnāṃ sattā-sphūrti-pradatvena tat-prerakas tad-antaryāmī | ataḥ katham enaṃ śastrādīni sva-vyāpāra-viṣayī kuryur ity abhiprāyaḥ | atra yena sūryas tapati tejaseddhaḥ [Taitt. Br. 3.12.97] ity ādi śrutayo ‚nusandheyāḥ | saptamādhyāye ca prakaṭīkariṣyati śrī-bhagavān iti dik

Viśvanātha

tasmād ātmāyam evam ucyata ity āha acchedya iti | atra prakaraṇe jīvātmano nityatvasya śabdato ‚rthataś ca paunaruktyaṃ nirdhāraṇa-prayojakaṃ sandigdhadhīṣu jñeyam | yathā kalāv asmin dharmo ‚sti dharmo ‚stīti tri-caturdhā-prayogād dharmo ‚sty eveti niḥsaṃśayā pratītiḥ syād iti jñeyam | sarva-gataḥ svakarma-vaśād deva-manuṣya-tiryag-ādi-sarva-deha-gataḥ | sthāṇur acala iti paunaruktyaṃ sthairya-nirdhāraṇārtham | atisūkṣmatvād avyaktas tad api deha-vyāpi-caitanyatvād acintyo ‚tarkyaḥ | janmādi-ṣaḍ-vikārānarhatvād avikāryaḥ

Baladeva

chedādy-abhāvād eva tat-tan-nāmabhir ayam ākhyāyata ity āha acchedyo ‚yam iti | eva-kāraḥ sarvaiḥ sambadhyate | sarva-gataḥ sva-karma-hetukeṣu deva-mānavādiṣu paśu-pakṣy-ādiṣu ca sarveṣu śarīreṣu paryāyeṇa gataḥ prāpto ‚pīty arthaḥ | sthāṇuḥ sthira-svarūpaḥ | acalaḥ sthira-guṇakaḥ | avināśī vā are ‚yam ātmānucchitti-dharmā [Bau 4.5.14] iti śruter ity arthaḥ | na cānucchittir eva dharmo yasyeti vyākhyeyaṃ tasyārthasyāvināśīty anenaiva lābhāt | tasmād anucchittayo nityā dharmā yasya sa tathety evārthaḥ | sanātanaḥ śāśvataḥ paunarukta-doṣas tv agre parihariṣyate

translations

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