Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 11
श्री भगवानुवाच
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे।
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः।।
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे।
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः।।
śrī bhagavān uvāca
aśocyān-anvaśocas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānś ca bhāṣase
gatāsūn-agatāsūnś-ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
also searched as "ashochyan anvashochastvam prajnavadamsh cha bhashase"
Translation
The Lord said, "You grieve for those who should not be grieved for; yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the dead nor for the living."
Vāṇi's rendering
Your words sound wise, but you grieve where grief has no place. The wise mourn neither living nor dead.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रीśrī | holy, blessed |
| भगवान्bhagavān | the Blessed One — Krishna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| अशोच्यान्aśocyān | those who are not to be grieved for |
| अन्वशोचःanvaśocaḥ | you have been grieving (appears as anvaśocas- before tvaṁ) |
| त्वम्tvaṁ | you |
| प्रज्ञा-वादान्prajñā-vādān | words of wisdom, learned-sounding speech (appears as -vādānś before ca) |
| चca | and yet |
| भाषसेbhāṣase | you speak |
| गत-असून्gata-asūn | those whose breath has gone — the dead |
| अगत-असून्agata-asūn | those whose breath has not gone — the living (appears as -asūnś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| नna | not (joined as nā- with anuśocanti) |
| अनुशोचन्तिanuśocanti | do they mourn, do they lament after |
| पण्डिताःpaṇḍitāḥ | the wise, those who truly know |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 11 mean?
It is Krishna's opening move as teacher. Arjuna's collapse came dressed in ethical reasoning, and Krishna separates the two: the reasoning is real speech, the grief is misplaced. Those you weep for were never in danger of ending. The wise, seeing that, do not mourn the living or the dead.
What does ashochyan anvashochastvam prajnavadamsh cha bhashase mean?
It means: you have grieved for those who need no grieving, and yet your words sound like wisdom. Krishna names the gap between how Arjuna sounds and where Arjuna stands. Eloquence is not clarity. A sorrow can build a whole argument for itself and still be sorrow.
Why is this the first thing Krishna says to Arjuna?
Because nothing further can be taught until the false premise is removed. Arjuna believes death ends someone. Every conclusion he draws rests on that. Krishna does not soothe him or praise his conscience — he goes under the argument and pulls out the stone it was built on.
Does this verse mean grieving is wrong?
No. It means grief aimed at the wrong object stays unhealed. Krishna does not forbid Arjuna his feeling; he questions what the feeling is about. Mourn the parting, the missing voice, the empty room. But the one who wore the body is not among the things you lost.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna's first words to Arjuna are not comfort. They are a correction. Arjuna has just delivered a speech about family ruin, caste collapse, ancestors falling — all of it fluent, all of it reasoned. Krishna notices the fluency and does not accept it. Grief can borrow the vocabulary of wisdom and sound exactly like it. You have done this: built an argument around a feeling, then mistaken the argument for a reason. The wise mourn neither the living nor the dead because they see what does not come and go. Arjuna cannot see that yet. Neither, most mornings, can you.