Changing Clothes: The Gita’s Ultimate Comfort on Life and Death
There’s a moment in the Bhagavad Gita that stops me every time I read it.
It’s in the second chapter, right there on the battlefield of Kurukshetra… smoke rising, chaos everywhere. Arjuna is paralyzed. Not physically. Emotionally. He’s staring at his kinsmen across the field, and the thought of their death terrifies him to the point where he can’t move.
Krishna sees this. And what does he do? He offers one of the most comforting metaphors in all of spiritual literature. He talks about changing clothes.
That’s it. Changing clothes.
The Verse
Bhagavad Gita, shloka 2.22. I’ll give it to you in multiple scripts because the sound of it matters.
In Kannada:
ವಾಸಾಂಸಿ ಜೀರ್ಣಾನಿ ಯಥಾ ವಿಹಾಯ
ನವಾನಿ ಗೃಷ್ಣಾತಿ ನರೋಽಪರಾಣಿ |
ತಥಾ ಶರೀರಾಣಿ ವಿಹಾಯ ಜೀರ್ಣಾ-
ನ್ಯನ್ಯಾನಿ ಸಂಯಾತಿ ನವಾನಿ ದೇಹೀ || ೨.೨೨ ||
In Devanagari:
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि |
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही || २.२२ ||
In IAST Format:
vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro’parāṇi |
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇā-
nyanyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī || 2.22 ||
Breaking It Down Word by Word
I find that Sanskrit rewards patience. Each word carries weight. Let’s this in detail:
ವಾಸಾಂಸಿ (vāsāṃsi): clothes, garments
ಜೀರ್ಣಾನಿ (jīrṇāni): worn out, old, torn
ಯಥಾ (yathā): just as
ವಿಹಾಯ (vihāya): casting off, discarding, letting go
ನವಾನಿ (navāni): new
ಗೃಷ್ಣಾತಿ (gṛhṇāti): accepts, takes, puts on
ನರಃ (naraḥ): a person, a human being
ಅಪರಾಣಿ (aparāṇi): others, different ones
ತಥಾ (tathā): in the same way, similarly
ಶರೀರಾಣಿ (śarīrāṇi): bodies
ವಿಹಾಯ (vihāya): casting off
ಜೀರ್ಣಾನಿ (jīrṣāni): worn out
ಅನ್ಯಾನಿ (anyāni): others
ಸಂಯಾತಿ (saṃyāti): enters into, takes on
ನವಾನಿ (navāni): new
ದೇಹೀ (dehī): the embodied soul, the dweller in the body
What It Actually Means
In Kannada:
ಹೇಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ಹಳೆಯದಾದ ಮತ್ತು ಹರಿದುಹೋದ ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಳನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ ಹೊಸ ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಳನ್ನು ಧರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೋ, ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ದೇಹಧಾರಿಯಾದ ಈ ಆತ್ಮನು ಜೀರ್ಣವಾದ ಹಳೆಯ ದೇಹಗಳನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ, ಹೊಸದಾದ ಬೇರೆ ದೇಹಗಳನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ.
In English:
Just as you discard worn-out clothes and put on new ones, the soul casts off worn-out bodies and enters into new ones.
That’s it. Simple. Profound.
Why This Matters
Here’s what Krishna is addressing: the core human fear. The fear of death. The terror that death means the end of everything.
He’s telling Arjuna… and us… that the Dehi (the dweller, the soul) is different from the Deha (the body, the dwelling place).
Think about it. When your shirt tears, you don’t cry “I am torn.” You don’t identify with the shirt. You just recognize the covering isn’t useful anymore, and you replace it. Krishna is saying that death works the same way. It’s simply a change of external covering for the eternal soul.
For me, as a physician, this perspective is grounding.
I spend my days treating bodies. That’s what I do. I diagnose diseases, prescribe medications, monitor vital signs. I care for the “garment” with everything I have… the utmost skill, the best evidence, and genuine concern.
But this verse reminds me there’s something else. Something that doesn’t show up on an ECG or a CT scan. The essence of the life within is indestructible. Eternal.
That doesn’t make my work less important. Actually, it makes it more meaningful. I’m caring for the temporary home of something timeless.
