Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 17

अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् । विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति

avināśi tu tadviddhi yena sarvamidaṃ tatam | vināśamavyayasyāsya na kaścitkartumarhati

Translation

But know that to be imperishable by which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Inexhaustible.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

avināśi

indestructible

tu

indeed

tat

That

viddhi

know (thou)

yena

by whom

sarvam

all

idam

this

tatam

(has been) spread

vināśam

the destruction

avyayasya

of the imperishable

asya

of this

na

not

kaścit

anyone

kartum

to do

arhati

is able

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Unlike the unreal, That — you must understand — does not vanish. That, the Brahman, the "Sat," the Real, by which all this world including the ākāśa is pervaded, just as pots and other objects are pervaded by space — Brahman does not undergo increase or diminution and is therefore inexhaustible. It is not exhausted in Itself, for unlike the body It has no parts; nor does It diminish by loss of anything belonging to It, for nothing belongs to the Self. Wherefore none can bring about the disappearance or destruction of the inexhaustible Brahman. Not even Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, can destroy the Self; for the Self is Brahman Itself, and one cannot act upon oneself.