17. That by which all this is pervaded,--That know for certain to be indestructible. None has the power to destroy this Immutable.

18. Of this indwelling Self, the ever-changeless, the indestructible, the illimitable,--these bodies are said to have an end. Fight therefore, O descendant of Bharata.

19. He who takes the Self to be the slayer, he who takes It to be the slain, neither of these knows. It does not slay, nor is It slain.

20. This in never born, nor does It die. It is not that not having been It again comes into being. (Or according to another view: It is not that having been It again ceases to be). This is unborn, eternal, changeless, ever-Itself. It is not killed when the body is killed.

21. He that knows This to be indestructible, changeless, without birth, and immutable, how is he, O son of Pritha, to slay or cause another to slay?

22. Even as a man casts off worn-out clothes, and puts on others which are new, so the embodied casts off worn-out bodies, and enters into others which are new.

23. This (Self), weapons cut not; This, fire burns not; This, water wets not; and This, wind dries not.

24. This Self cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor wetted, nor dried. Changeless, all-pervading, unmoving, immovable, the Self is eternal.

25. This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable, and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing This to be such, thou oughtest not to mourn.

26. But if thou shouldst take This to have constant birth and death, even in that case, O mighty-armed, thou oughtest not to mourn for This.

27. Of that which is born, death is certain, of that which is dead, birth is certain. Over the unavoidable, therefore, thou oughtest not to grieve.

28. All beings are unmanifested in their beginning, O Bharata, manifested in their middle state and unmanifested again in their end. What is there then to grieve about?

29. Some look upon the Self as marvellous. Others speak of It as wonderful. Others again hear of It as a wonder. And still others, though hearing, do not understand It at all.

30. This, the Indweller in the bodies of all, is ever indestructible, O descendant of Bharata. Wherefore thou oughtest not to mourn for any creature.

31. Looking at thine own Dharma, also, thou oughtest not to waver, for there is nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.

32. Fortunate certainly are the Kshatriyas, O son of Pritha, who are called to fight in such a battle, that comes unsought as an open gate to heaven.

33. But if thou refusest to engage in this righteous warfare, then, forfeiting thine own Dharma and honour, thou shalt incur sin.

34. The world also will ever hold thee in reprobation. To the honoured, disrepute is surely worse than death.