न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन् नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः | अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ||२०||
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato'yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre
Translation
The soul is never born nor dies at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.
Interpretation
Perhaps the most comprehensive description of the soul's nature in the entire Gita. The soul transcends all temporal categories: it was never born, it does not die, it has not come into being at any point in time. 'Purāṇa' — ancient, primeval — suggests it is older than creation itself. The body may be slain, but the soul continues unchanged. This is the foundational truth upon which all of Krishna's subsequent teaching rests.