Atha Chainam Nityajatam

Krishna offers a second line of reasoning here, almost like a skilled lawyer presenting an alternative argument. He says: suppose you do not accept that the soul is eternal. Suppose you believe it is born again and again and dies again and again. Even then, O mighty-armed Arjuna, grief makes no sense.

Why? Because if birth and death are simply a natural rhythm — like breathing in and breathing out — then singling out one particular death for overwhelming sorrow is like weeping over one sunset in a lifetime of sunsets. The process goes on. It has always gone on.

What Krishna is doing is closing every escape route for grief. Whether the soul is eternal or whether it cycles through endless births and deaths, the conclusion is the same: mourning is misplaced. This is not cold logic. It is a friend saying — whichever way you look at it, put down this burden.

This shloka reveals Krishna's depth as a teacher. He does not insist that Arjuna accept one philosophical position before moving forward. Instead, he meets Arjuna wherever he stands. If Arjuna holds the soul to be immortal — no grief. If he holds it to be mortal and cyclical — still no grief.

By offering arguments from both sides, Krishna ensures that no philosophical stance can justify paralysis on the battlefield.