नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः। उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः॥
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ / ubhayor api dṛṣṭo 'ntas tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ
The impermanent never truly is; the Real never stops being. The seers of truth have verified this.
Word by word (4)
- na asataḥ vidyate bhāvaḥ
- — for the unreal there is no being / the unreal never comes into existence · 'Asat' — the non-real, the impermanent, that which changes and passes away. 'Bhāva' — being, existence. The impermanent never truly exists — it appears and disappears, but it has no abiding reality.
- na abhāvaḥ vidyate sataḥ
- — for the real there is no non-being / the real never ceases to exist · 'Sat' — the Real, the eternal, that which does not change. 'Abhāva' — non-existence, absence. What is truly real cannot become non-existent.
- ubhayoḥ api dṛṣṭaḥ antaḥ tu
- — the truth of both has been seen / the conclusion about both has been realized
- anayoḥ tattva-darśibhiḥ
- — by those who see reality / by seers of truth
'The unreal never truly exists. The Real never ceases to exist. The truth of both of these has been clearly seen by those who can see reality.'
A modern analogy
A dream feels completely real while you're in it. When you wake, you say: 'that wasn't real.' The Gita extends this: everything impermanent — everything that appears and disappears — has the same status as the dream. What is Real is what remains when everything transient has passed. This is not nihilism; it is the most affirmative possible view: something permanent underlies everything.
Take with you
- The Sat/Asat distinction is one of Advaita's central teachings: Real (Sat) = eternal, unchanging; Unreal (Asat) = appearing and disappearing.
- 'Tattva-darśibhiḥ' — seers of truth. This is not abstract speculation but direct perception by those who have verified it through practice.
- The practical implication: suffering that arises from treating the impermanent as permanent can be addressed by recognizing what is actually Real.
Verse 16 is one of the most compact and important philosophical statements in the Gita. It contains the core Vedantic ontology in two lines: 1. 'nāsato vidyate bhāvaḥ' — the non-real has no being. Whatever is impermanent — appearing, changing, disappearing — does not, in the deepest sense, exist. It has only apparent existence. 2. 'nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ' — the Real has no non-being. What is truly Real (the Atman, Brahman) can never not-exist. This is the philosophical foundation for the entire teaching about the soul's immortality. The body is 'asat' — impermanent, appearing and disappearing. The Atman is 'sat' — Real, eternal, incapable of non-being. This is why grief for the body's death is 'mourning for what should not be mourned for.'
Advaita lens
This verse is the axiomatic foundation of Advaita Vedanta. Shankaracharya uses it to establish the entire Advaitic ontology: Brahman alone is Sat (Real); the phenomenal world is Asat (apparently real, ultimately impermanent). The individual Atman, in its essence, is identical with Brahman — and therefore Sat. The body-mind is Asat — and therefore, in the deepest sense, nothing to grieve for.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Of the unreal no being is found; of the Real no nonbeing is found. The conclusion about both these is seen by the seers of truth. [1]
The unreal never is; the Real never is not. This truth indeed has been seen by those who can see the essence of things. [4]
The unreal hath no being; the real never ceaseth to be; The truth of both these is seen by those who look deeply. [7]
There is no existence for the unreal; there is no non-existence for the real. And the final truth about both these has been perceived by those who see truth. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
That which pervades everything cannot be destroyed — nothing and no one has the power to end it.
Constant Self-enquiry + seeing the goal of true knowledge = THIS IS JÑĀNA; all else is ignorance.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Your body changed from childhood to age without 'you' dying — changing bodies is no different.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?