Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 24

अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च । नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः

acchedyo'yamadāhyo'yamakledyo'śoṣya eva ca | nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇuracalo'yaṃ sanātanaḥ

Translation

He cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor wetted, nor dried up. He is everlasting, all-pervading, stable, firm, and eternal.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

acchedyaḥ

uncleavable

ayam

this

adāhyaḥ

incombustible

ayam

this

akledyaḥ

unwettable

aśoṣyaḥ

undryable

eva

also

ca

and

nityaḥ

perpetual

sarvagataḥ

all-pervasive

sthāṇuḥ

stable

acalaḥ

immovable

ayam

this

sanātanaḥ

ancient

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

These epithets are summary denials of the changes just enumerated and assertions of the Self's permanence. He is everlasting (nitya); all-pervading (sarva-gata) — the cause of all and present in all as the inner Self; stable (sthāṇu) — fixed, like the pillar; firm (acala) — unmoved; and eternal (sanātana) — having no beginning or end. Wherefore there is no occasion to grieve over Him.