He who knows the self to be eternal, as It is indestructible, unborn and changeless—how can that person be said to cause the death of the self, be it of the self existing in the bodies of gods or animals or immovables? Whom does he kill? The meaning is—how can he destroy any one or cause anyone to slay? How does he become an instrument for slaying? The meaning is this: the feeling of sorrow: ‘I cause the slaying of these selves, I slay these,’ has its basis solely in ignorance about the true nature of the self.

Let it be granted that what is done is only separation of the bodies from the eternal selves. Even then, when the bodies, which are instruments for the experience of agreeable pleasures, perish, there still exists reason for sorrow in their separation from the bodies. To this (Shri Krishna) replies: