Bhagavad Gita 2.16

The unreal has no lasting being and the real never ceases to be, as seers of truth have found.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः।
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः॥

nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo 'ntas tv anayos tattvadarśibhiḥ

Translation

"What is unreal never comes to be, and what is real never ceases to be. Those who see the truth have observed where both of these end."

Hindi

"जो असत् है वह कभी होता नहीं, और जो सत् है उसका कभी अभाव नहीं होता। तत्त्वदर्शियों ने इन दोनों का निष्कर्ष देख लिया है।"

Commentary

This is one of the densest verses in the chapter. Shankara reads sat, the real, as the changeless self and asat as everything that changes, such as the body. What alters cannot be fully real, and what is real cannot be undone. 2.17 describes the real one.

Key concepts

Atmanआत्मन्