जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyurdhruvaṃ janma mṛtasya ca |tasmādaparihārye'rthe na tvaṃ śocitumarhasi ||
For one who is born, death is certain, and for one who has died, birth is certain. So over what cannot be avoided, you should not grieve.
Explanation
Krishna is speaking to Arjuna, who is overcome with grief at the thought of fighting his own kin. Having just said that even if the self were thought to be born and die repeatedly, grief is unwarranted, he now points to the certainty of the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra). Since this cycle cannot be avoided, mourning it is futile. Traditions differ on emphasis: some commentators stress the doctrine of rebirth here, others the general inevitability of change.