य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् ।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥ १९ ॥
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥ १९ ॥
ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaścainaṃ manyate hatam .
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate .. 19 ..
Whoever looks upon Him as the slayer, and whoever looks upon Him as the slain, both these know not aright. He slays not, nor is He slain.
Read the commentary
He who understands the Self—of whom we are speaking—as the agent in the act of slaying, and he who regards Him as the sufferer in the act of slaying when the body is slain, neither of these two has understood the Self aright, for want of discrimination. Those who think ‘I slay’ or ‘I am slain’ when the body is slain, and thus identify the Self with the object of the consciousness of ‘I,’ the ego (aham),—they do not understand the real nature of the Self. Being immutable (avikriya), the Self is neither the agent nor the object of the action of slaying.
The Self is immutable
How is the Self immutable?—This is answered by the next verse.