नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥ २३ ॥
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥ २३ ॥
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ .
na cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ .. 23 ..
Him weapons cut not, Him fire burns not, and Him water wets not; Him wind dries not.
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Him, i.e., the embodied Self of whom we are speaking, weapons, such as swords, do not cut. As he has no parts, they can effect no division of Him into parts. So, fire does not burn Him : even fire cannot reduce Him to ashes.
Neither does water wet Him; for, the power of water lies in disjoining the parts of a thing which is made up of parts, by wetting it; and this cannot take place in the partless Self. So, wind destroys an object containing moisture, by drying it up; but even wind cannot dry up the Self.