Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 – Verse 19 – Ya Enam Vetti Hantaram

After commanding Arjuna to fight based on the soul’s eternal nature, Lord Krishna now addresses the specific fear of sinful action. How can one fight and kill without becoming a “killer”? The Ya Enam Vetti Hantaram verse dismantles the very concepts of “slayer” and “slain” from the perspective of the soul. It explains that anyone who identifies the immortal self with the temporary act of destroying a body is in a state of profound ignorance.

Contents

Sanskrit Verse

य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् ।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥ १९ ॥

Transliteration

ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate

Word for Word Translation

yaḥ — one who; enam — this (soul); vetti — knows; hantāram — the slayer; yaḥ — one who; ca — also; enam — this (soul); manyate — thinks; hatam — slain; ubhau — both; tau — they; na vijānītaḥ — are in ignorance; na — never; ayam — this (soul); hanti — slays; na — nor; hanyate — is slain.

A symbolic, cinematic shot for the Ya Enam Vetti Hantaram verse, showing a sword passing harmlessly through the reflection of a warrior. — Nāyam Hanti Na Hanyate – This Soul Neither Slays Nor Is Slain

English Translation

The one who thinks the soul is the slayer, and the one who thinks the soul is slain, are both in ignorance. For the self neither slays nor is slain.

Explanation

Each Bhagavad Gita verse whispers ancient truths, let’s listen closely with Vedic Stories…

This verse cuts to the heart of Arjuna’s fear of sinful reactions. Krishna addresses two sides of the same ignorant coin—the illusion of being the agent of killing and the illusion of being the object of killing.

The Ignorance of the “Slayer” and the “Slain”: Krishna states that the person who thinks “I am the killer” (`hantāram`) and the person who thinks “He is killed” (`hatam`) are both speaking from a place of ignorance (`na vijānītaḥ`). Why? Both of them are mistakenly identifying the eternal, unchanging soul with the temporary actions and fate of the material body.
Nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate: “This one neither slays nor is slain.” This is the definitive, absolute truth. The soul (`ayam`, this one) is spiritually inactive in the material sense. It is the eternal witness, but the body and the forces of material nature carry out the actions themselves. Since the Atman cannot be cut, burned, or destroyed by any weapon, it can never be “slain.” And because the soul is not the ultimate agent of the body’s actions, it does not “slay.”
Understanding True Agency: This is a key concept for understanding the law of Karma. Actions performed under the illusion of bodily identification create binding reactions. Actions performed with the knowledge that the soul is separate and merely a witness can lead to liberation. Arjuna’s fear is rooted in the false belief that *he*, the eternal soul, would be the slayer of *them*, the eternal souls. Krishna corrects this by stating that only bodies interact with bodies; the soul remains transcendental.

Conclusion

With this powerful verse, Lord Krishna further deepens Arjuna’s understanding. He is being taught to see the world from the soul’s perspective. From that elevated viewpoint, the concepts of “killer” and “killed” are illusions born of misidentification with the temporary body. The fear of incurring sin by “killing” his relatives is based on the same illusion that causes grief for their death. By understanding that the true self is neither the agent nor the object of material destruction, Arjuna is being prepared to perform his duty with clarity and without fear.