Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 19

य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् । उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते

ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaścainaṃ manyate hatam | ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate

Translation

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.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

yaḥ

he who

enam

this

vetti

knows

hantāram

slayer

yaḥ

he who

ca

and

enam

this

manyate

thinks

hatam

slain

ubhau

the two

tau

those

na

not

vijānītaḥ

(two) know

na

not

ayam

this

hanti

kills

na

not

hanyate

is killed

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

He who understands the Self 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 has understood the Self aright, for want of discrimination. Those who think "I slay" or "I am slain" when the body is slain identify the Self with the object of the consciousness of "I," the ego (ahaṃ); 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.