In the previous verse we saw that Lord Krishna says atma is akarta, free from all karmas. When that is so, it means atma, the immutable Self, is free from punyam (unseen merit) and papam (unseen sin). In fact, there is no accumulated karma (sanchita karma), nor karma acquired in this life that will join the sanchita karma, nor karma that is fructifying (prarabdha karma) in this embodiment. And since karmas are not there, there is no birth for atma, much less there is rebirth. There is no rebirth.
Then why does Shastra talk about last rites for the departed? They are meant for whom? There are meant for the subtle body that survives the death of the body and which travels from one birth to another. The subtle body, has rebirth. It is from the stand-point of the subtle body that there are rituals prescribed.
The enlightened person does not require any rituals because he/ she has recognized their true nature to be the Immutable All-pervading Self.
In this verse,
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।अ
जो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।2.20।।
Basically it is pointed out that the true Self is totally free of all the six-fold modifications of asti (existence in seed form or temporary existence), jaayate (taking birth), vardhate (growing), viparinamate (changing), apakshiyate (decaying), vinashyati (death) – atma is changeless.
When we look at our own bodies we can see that there is a foetus first, then the baby is born, then it grows, by teenage many changes take place, and over time there is old age, which causes decay in the body and finally it perishes. Here Krishna points out that atma is free of all these six modifications which we see in the world.
Five-fold modifications are negated in the second line and asti, the last one is understood.
Adi Shakaracharya comments न जायते न उत्पद्यते जनिलक्षणा वस्तुविक्रिया न आत्मनो विद्यते इत्यर्थः। na jaayate - the Self is not born, meaning it does not have the first modification which is birth. Birth is only for the subtle body, which takes on a new body. There is no birth for atma. In the commentary the word vikriya is there. Vikriya means change. Shastra talks about bhava (existent) and abhava (non-existent). How can there be change for what is non-existent? Change has to always refer to an existent entity. जनिलक्षणा वस्तुविक्रिया न आत्मनो विद्यते The gist is atma does not have the change called birth.
न म्रियते च इति अन्त्या विनाशलक्षणा विक्रिया प्रतिषिध्यते। Shankara says that by saying na mriyate, there is a negation of the final modification in the form of death. Its comforting to see death as a form of modification, because it indirectly means that we continue even after the death of the body.
कदाचिच्छब्दः सर्वविक्रियाप्रतिषेधैः संबध्यते न कदाचित् जायते न कदाचित् म्रियते इत्येवम्। na kadacit which means never at any time, And this should be connect it to all the verbs indicating modifications. Never at any time is there birth for the Self, never at any time is there death for the Self. Never at any time does it grow or decay .
In common parlance birth of something means that it was non-existent before it is born, and now it comes into existence. From non-existence to existence is birth. And death of something is looked at as going from existence into non-existence.
Now let us see what Shankaracharya says
यस्मात् अयम् आत्मा भूत्वा भवनक्रियामनुभूय पश्चात् अभविता अभावं गन्ता न भूयः पुनः तस्मात् न म्रियते। Since this Self which is already existing and does not become non-existent later again, it is said that it does not die. यो हि भूत्वा न भविता स म्रियत इत्युच्यते लोके। Whatever in this world, once coming into existence, then becomes non-existent, is usually said to die.
वाशब्दात् न शब्दाच्च अयमात्मा अभूत्वा वा भविता देहवत् न भूयः। तस्मात् न जायते। In the second line two words used vaa and na. These two words what is understood is that unlike this body (which comes into being again after non-existing) the Self does not come into being after not existing before. Meaning that the Self always exists and therefore we cannot say that the Self is born … the Self is not born (like the body), it ever-exists. यो हि अभूत्वा भविता स जायत इत्युच्यते। नैवमात्मा। अतो न जायते। That which does not exist earlier but come into being later on, is said to be born. No so the Self. Therefore it is unborn.
यस्मादेवं तस्मात् अजः यस्मात् न म्रियते तस्मात् नित्य श्च। Because it is not born it is called ajaH (unborn). Because it does not die it is called nityaH. By these two words, two modifications of birth and death are negated for the Self. यद्यपि आद्यन्तयोर्विक्रिययोः प्रतिषेधे सर्वा विक्रियाः प्रतिषिद्धा भवन्ति - By negating the two modifications of beginning (birth) and end (death), all the other modifications also stand negated. In the bhasya it is mentioned that the word shashvata negates even the changes like youth, middle age, old age which are not particularly mentioned.
Adi Shankaracharya continues
शाश्वत इति अपक्षयलक्षणा विक्रिया प्रतिषिध्यते। The word shaashvata negates the modification in the form of decay, degeneration, declension, old age, senility . शश्वद्भवः शाश्वतः। That which exists for ever in the same way is shaasvat.
Degeneration can be of two types. It can be degeneration of a substance because of diminution of various parts, like losing a limb. The second type of degeneration is when the substance itself is intact but its powers are lost. Like in Parkinson’s disease, physically the hand and legs are there but they cannot move
न अपक्षीयते स्वरूपेण निरवयवत्वात्। The Self is partless and hence it does not degenerate substantially as a substance, in the sense of losing a part..
नापि गुणक्षयेण अपक्षयः निर्गुणत्वात्। Since it is free of all attributes it does not degenerate in sense of losing some faculties or attributes.
So the final meaning of shaashvat is free from the two fold degeneration or decay.
Shankaracharya points out that by negating decay and deterioration, any growth, regeneration or increase is also negated as the Self is partless. Being free of parts, the Self has been ever-fresh, ever the same, without increase in dimension or attributes and is thus purana. अयं तु आत्मा निरवयवत्वात् पुरापि नव एवेति पुराणः न वर्धते इत्यर्थः। Unlike this body (which can look fresh and new after a shower!), this atma not having any kind of value addition, never becomes a new thing as we conventionally know. Why? Because it is free of parts. You can't add parts to the Self. purā api navaḥ even though it is ancient it is ever-fresh. It does not grow or expand. śāśvataḥ means ātmā doesn’t contract. purāṇaḥ means ātmā doesn’t expand.
The Self na hanyate – is never subject to change (that is the meaning taken here, in this context, by Shankarcharya, as in the first quarter of the verse it was already said that the Self does not die, so he interprets na hanyate as not being subject to change). hanyamane sharire – even when the body is killed, the Self does not undergo any change. Or even when the physical body undergoes change, the Self does not undergo any change. Even when the mind undergoes change, as the thoughts change, the Self does not undergo any change.
अस्मिन् मन्त्रे षड् भावविकारा लौकिकवस्तुविक्रिया आत्मनि प्रतिषिध्यन्ते। In this mantra, the six-fold modification to which everything (other than atma) is subject, is negated in the Self. The Self is free of all kind of modifications or change. Note that though this verse is shloka of the Gita, Lord Krishna calls it as mantra, that is because it is bodily lifted from the Katho Upanishad with a slight changes.
In the previous verse it was pointed out that atma is not a karta, nor it is subject to any action. In this verse it is said that atma is changeless. So the connection between these two verses is that of cause and effect. Because the Self is changeless, it is not a doer (akarta). Because atma is changeless , atma is not a doer, it cannot perform any action. Change is required for doing any action. When change is not possible for atma, doer-ship is also not possible. Since atma is changeless, it is actionless. And the action-lessness of the Self was mentioned in the previous verse. And by the changelessness of the Self that is revealed in this verse, the two are connected.
And Arjuna, because of this, you are not going incur either papa or punyam, by fighting the war.
So far we have seen that the Self is REAL (satya – that which ever-exists), eternal (nityaH), all-pervading (sarvagataH), never known, ever the knower (Aprameya), not the agent of action (akarta), not the object of action (abhokta), and now changeless, free of all modifications (nirvikaraH).
Om Tat Sat