Complete learning edition. The Sanskrit source remains separate from attributed word meanings, translation, explanation and commentary witnesses. Diagrams and memory aids are study tools, not replacements for the source text.
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि। तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही।।2.22।।
vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛihṇāti naro ’parāṇi tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānya nyāni sanyāti navāni dehī
Even as a man casts off worn-out clothes, and puts on others which are new, so the embodied casts off worn-out bodies, and enters into others which are new.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| vāsānsi | garments |
| jīrṇāni | worn-out |
| yathā | as |
| vihāya | sheds |
| navāni | new |
| gṛihṇāti | accepts |
| naraḥ | a person |
| aparāṇi | others |
| tathā | likewise |
| śharīrāṇi | bodies |
| vihāya | casting off |
| jirṇāni | worn-out |
| anyāni | other |
| sanyāti | enters |
| navāni | new |
| dehī | the embodied soul |
Begin with the verse itself, then trace its movement through vāsānsi (garments), tathā (likewise), and dehī (the embodied soul). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to the enduring self and steady wisdom. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 2.22.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Trace the movement from grief through self, duty, disciplined action and the description of steady intelligence.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Even as a man casts off worn-out clothes
- 2
puts on others which are new
- 3
the embodied casts off worn-out bodies
Look, link, cover, teach
Look
Picture the enduring self.
Link
Use the line starts: vāsānsi jīrṇāni / navāni gṛihṇāti / tathā śharīrāṇi / nyāni sanyāti.
Cover
Hide the verse and rebuild one line at a time.
Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
Circle repeated sounds, names, or grammatical endings before consulting a meaning.
Read one line aloud, cover it, and reconstruct as much as you can from memory.
Compare with a checked edition and record the source before adding any translation.
Build meaning without hiding the work
Trace the movement from grief through self, duty, disciplined action and the description of steady intelligence.
Mark forms you want to investigate
These are visual tokens, not a reviewed sandhi split. Select repeated forms, endings, compounds, particles or speaker markers; verify segmentation with the Sanskrit tools or a checked edition.
Three questions for this verse
- 1
What distinction or instruction appears?
- 2
Which earlier problem does it answer?
- 3
How does it connect action with understanding?
Place the verse under grief, self, action or steadiness and defend the placement.
Attempt before comparison
Make revision visible
Assessment: read aloud, explain the verse’s role in its chapter, identify one source boundary, answer one question and schedule a return.
Turn this reading into a study record
Save it, return from memory, and write one idea in your own words. Your record stays in this browser unless you export it.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 2.22, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 2.22 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 2.22 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 2.22 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 2.22, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
Use an authorized edition