Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 23

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः । न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः

nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ | na cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ

Translation

Him, weapons cut not; Him, fire burns not; and Him, water wets not; Him, wind dries not.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

na

not

enam

this

chindanti

cleave

śastrāṇi

weapons

na

not

enam

this

dahati

burns

pāvakaḥ

fire

na

not

ca

and

enam

this

kledayanti

wet

āpaḥ

waters

na

not

śoṣayati

dries

mārutaḥ

wind

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Weapons, such as the sword, cut not the Self; for the Self has no parts. Fire burns Him not, for He cannot be consumed. Water wets Him not; for water acts only on what is composed of parts. Wind dries Him not, for wind dissipates moisture from things that contain it, and the Self has no moisture in Him. Thus is the immutability of the Self shown by the denial of these four sorts of action.