Sanskrit
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः । न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ na cainaṃ kledayanty āpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Translation
Weapons cleave him not, nor fire burneth him, nor waters wet him, nor wind drieth him away.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A fourfold negative definition of the self — untouched by weapons, fire, water, or wind, the four classical instruments of destruction available to a warrior. It isn’t a claim that the body is invulnerable (bodies obviously die); it’s a claim about what the self is not made of. Nothing that can be cut, burned, drowned, or dried can touch it, because it isn’t a physical thing at all.
Concepts