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Chapter 2 · Sankhya YogaVerse 24 of 72
Shloka 2.24

Repeat truth until it becomes steadiness.

Krishna speaks to Arjuna

अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च ।नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥२-२४॥

acchedyo'yam adāhyo'yam akledyo'śoṣya eva ca | nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo'yaṃ sanātanaḥ ||2-24||

Use this verse as a grounding mantra.

Meaning

The self cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and everlasting.

Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).

In plain words

Krishna repeats the soul’s indestructibility to make Arjuna’s mind steady.

Word-by-word meaning

Tap a word to see its meaning.

Explanation

Repetition matters when fear is strong. Krishna gives Arjuna multiple words for the same truth: eternal, stable, immovable, ancient. In a crisis, the mind needs to hear truth again and again until it becomes inner conviction.

Read the traditional commentary

This verse consolidates and extends the declarations of verse 23, adding positive attributes to the negative declarations. Not only is the soul immune to every destructive force, but it possesses a series of magnificent positive qualities: 'nitya' (eternal), 'sarva-gata' (all-pervading, present everywhere), 'sthāṇu' (perfectly stable, like a pillar), 'acala' (immovable), and 'sanātana' (primeval, from before time).

The attribute 'sarva-gata' — all-pervading — is philosophically significant. The soul is not confined to the body in the way a person is confined to a room. It pervades all space.

This raises profound questions about individual identity and cosmic consciousness that the Gita and the broader Vedantic tradition explore at length. At minimum, it suggests that the separateness we experience between 'my soul' and 'your soul' may be a function of bodily identification rather than ultimate reality.

'Sthāṇu' and 'acala' — fixed and immovable — describe the soul as the one constant in the flux of experience. Everything in the manifest world moves, changes, rises, and falls. The soul alone is the unchanging witness.

Spiritual practice, from this perspective, is the progressive discovery of this unchanging ground within oneself — not a remote theological abstraction but the most intimate fact of one's experience. When all else is in motion, this stillness remains. And recognizing it, even briefly, is the beginning of liberation.

In daily life

Use sacred reminders to train the mind during fear.

Before a stressful day, repeating one grounding verse can set emotional stability.

Try this today

Choose one affirmation from this verse and repeat it 11 times.

Carry this with you
I am steady in the eternal truth of the self.

Reflect

Which truth do I need to hear repeatedly?

Private — only you can see this

Quick check

What does ‘sanātanaḥ’ mean in this verse?

Krishna on ego, in other chapters

Swipe left for 2.25 · Expand understanding to transform grief.

Questions about Bhagavad Gita 2.24

Who says Bhagavad Gita 2.24, and to whom?

Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 2.24, in Chapter 2, Sankhya Yoga (Sankhya Yoga).

What does Bhagavad Gita 2.24 mean?

The self cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and everlasting. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)

What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 2.24 for daily life?

Use sacred reminders to train the mind during fear. Before a stressful day, repeating one grounding verse can set emotional stability.

What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 2.24 mean?

acchedyaḥ — uncleavable, cannot be cut; ayam — this (soul); adāhyaḥ — cannot be burned; akledyaḥ — cannot be moistened; aśoṣyaḥ — cannot be dried.

Where does verse 2.24 come in the Bhagavad Gita?

It is verse 24 of 72 in Chapter 2, Sankhya Yoga. The next verse is 2.25.