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Dehino'smin Yatha Dehe (Bhagavad Gita 2.13)

देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे

🕉️ hindu·📿 11× repetitions·🕐 Early morning during meditation, or whenever facing grief, bereavement, or fear of death·📜 Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 13

Also known as: dehino smin yatha dehe · bhagavad gita 2.13 · gita chapter 2 verse 13 · kaumaram yauvanam jara · dehantara prapti verse

📜 Complete Lyrics 📖 Word-by-Word Meaning ✨ Benefits & How to Chant ⬇️ PDF Download

Read in your language / script

हिन्दी / देवनागरीతెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ English සිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

This iconic verse from the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2, Verse 13) is Lord Krishna's foundational teaching on the eternal soul (atman) and reincarnation. He compares the soul's passage from one body to the next at death with the body's own passage from childhood to youth to old age — a natural, continuous transition. The steadfast and wise (dhira) therefore do not grieve over death, for the soul itself is never lost.

Origin & Story

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 13 · Spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna; recorded by Sage Veda Vyasa in the Mahabharata (Bhishma Parva) · Ancient (part of the Mahabharata, traditionally dated to the Dvapara Yuga)

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna was paralyzed by sorrow at the prospect of fighting and killing his own teachers, elders, and kinsmen. The philosophy of the Gita truly begins here in the second chapter, Sankhya Yoga, where Krishna dispels Arjuna's grief by revealing the true nature of the Self. This verse is among the first and most famous statements of that teaching: the soul is eternal and merely transmigrates from body to body.

✦ As told in scripture

Sages and devotees through the ages have drawn courage from this verse at the moment of death, facing their final breath without fear because they knew the soul is never slain. It is said that contemplating this single verse at the time of passing steadies the mind and turns death from a terror into a peaceful transition.

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The Mantra

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देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा। तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति॥

dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati

Meaning:Just as the embodied soul continuously passes through childhood, youth, and old age in this body, so too at death does it pass into another body; the wise and steadfast are not deluded by this.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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देहिनः🔊dehinaḥof the embodied soul (the one who dwells in the body)

अस्मिन्🔊asminin this

यथा🔊yathājust as

देहे🔊dehein the body

कौमारम्🔊kaumāramchildhood

यौवनम्🔊yauvanamyouth

जरा🔊jarāold age

तथा🔊tathāsimilarly, in the same way

देहान्तर🔊dehāntaraanother body

प्राप्तिः🔊prāptiḥthe attaining, acquisition

धीरः🔊dhīraḥthe wise, the steadfast one

तत्र🔊tatratherein, with regard to this

न मुह्यति🔊na muhyatiis not deluded, does not grieve

Benefits of Chanting Dehino'smin Yatha Dehe (Bhagavad Gita 2.13)

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Removes the fear of death by revealing the soul's eternal, deathless nature

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Brings consolation and steadiness (dhairya) to those grieving the loss of loved ones

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Establishes the foundational Vedantic understanding of the atman and reincarnation

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Cultivates equanimity and detachment from the changing phases of the body and life

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Strengthens spiritual conviction in the continuity of the self beyond a single lifetime

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Chanting this verse calms the agitated mind in times of bereavement or transition

How to Chant Dehino'smin Yatha Dehe (Bhagavad Gita 2.13)

Repetitions11times

Best TimeEarly morning during meditation, or whenever facing grief, bereavement, or fear of death

Sit quietly and recite the verse slowly in Sanskrit, reflecting on its meaning that the soul merely changes bodies as one changes phases of life. It may be chanted 3, 11, or 21 times. This verse is especially recited for peace of the departed and to console the grieving, contemplating the deathless atman within.

Frequently Asked Questions

It means 'Just as the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth, and old age in this body, similarly it attains another body after death; the wise are not deluded by this.' It is Krishna's core teaching on the eternal soul and reincarnation in Bhagavad Gita 2.13.

Arjuna was overwhelmed with grief at the thought of his kinsmen dying in battle. Krishna teaches that the soul is never truly destroyed — it only leaves an old body and takes a new one, just as a person naturally moves from childhood to old age. Thus a wise person does not grieve over death.

The dhira is the wise, self-controlled person who understands the distinction between the eternal soul and the temporary body. Because of this knowledge, such a person remains undeluded and unshaken even in the face of death.

Yes. This verse is traditionally recited at times of bereavement and in remembrance of the departed, as a meditation on the imperishable nature of the soul. It brings peace to the grieving and affirms that the atman lives on.