Sankhya Yoga 2.27

Verse 2.27

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च |

तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि || 27||

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛityur dhruvaṁ janma mṛitasya cha

tasmād aparihārye ’rthe na tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi

jātasya—for one who has been born; hi—for;

dhruvaḥ—certain; mṛityuḥ—death; dhruvam—certain; janma—birth;

mṛitasya—for the dead; cha—and; tasmāt—therefore;

aparihārye arthe—in this inevitable situation; na—not;

tvam—you; śhochitum—lament; arhasi—befitting

Death is certain for one who has been born,

and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died.

Therefore, you should not lament over the inevitable.

In this verse, Krishna talks about those who die before attaining self realization. It is natural for a jeeva to be born and die as long as he is bound by false identifications such as desires. No one can stop death that comes due to one’s karma. Even the avataras like Rama and Krishna had to meet with their death. If a body is born it is destined to die after a certain period of time. Krishna states this universal law and asks Arjuna not to grieve about something that cannot be altered (apariharyerte). If a situation has the possibility to be changed, it is wise for one to make an effort to alter the course of the situation or try to prevent it from happening. But if one realizes that a situation cannot be prevented from happening, the wisest thing to do is to wholeheartedly accept the result that the situation brings forth upon oneself. Hence one should understand that the reason for sorrow is not the unalterable situation itself, but the mindset that does not accept the situation.