Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: The Path of Understanding
Bhagavad Gita 2.19
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् ।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥
ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaścainaṃ manyate hatam | ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate ||
One who thinks this self kills, and one who thinks it is killed, both fail to understand. It neither kills nor is killed.
Modern context
This verse is about the self, not about conduct. It does not say that killing is harmless; the Gita elsewhere praises non-violence and holds people answerable for what they do. It says that the innermost self is neither an agent of destruction nor its victim. Arjuna's two fears, 'I will be a killer' and 'they will be destroyed', both rest on mistaking the body for the person.