Krishna Explains the Difference Between Perishable and Imperishable

Context: where Krishna speaks about perishable and imperishable

When Krishna speaks of the “perishable” and the “imperishable,” he is teaching on the nature of life, death and ultimate reality. These remarks occur mainly in the Bhagavad Gītā — especially in chapter 2, where he contrasts the mutable body and the changeless Self (ātman), and in chapter 15, where he distinguishes two categories of beings and then points to a supreme principle beyond them. The language is metaphysical but also practical: the aim is to steady Arjuna’s mind so he can act with clarity.

Basic terms and a brief gloss

• Ātman — the inner Self or soul (often described as unchanging and immortal).
• Kṣara — “perishable” or mutable; applied to bodies, mind, and the everyday world.
• Akṣara — “imperishable” or immutable; applied to the eternal Self, and sometimes to Brahman.
• Puruṣottama — “the supreme person” or highest reality, used in the Gītā to indicate a principle beyond the twofold division.

What Krishna means by perishable and imperishable

Krishna’s teaching operates at two related levels.

• Ontological distinction: The body, senses and mind are kṣara — they change, decay, and die. The ātman or true Self is presented as akṣara — not subject to birth or death, essentially unaffected by bodily change. In chapter 2 the Gītā insists that the Self does not take birth and does not die in the way bodies do; the body is perishable while the Self is enduring.
• Relative and absolute levels: In chapter 15 Krishna offers a taxonomy: there are two kinds of beings — the perishable (kṣara) and the imperishable (akṣara) — and beyond both there is the Puruṣottama who transcends the pair. This allows the scripture to hold both an ethical anthropology (we act in a world of change) and a spiritual metaphysics (there is an abiding reality).

How this functions in practice

The distinction is not only theoretical. It shapes ethical outlook, ritual practice and soteriology (the means of liberation).

• Detachment and duty: If the body and its possessions are transient, Krishna argues, one can perform duty (dharma) without clinging — a central lesson of the Gītā. This is the motivation for action without attachment.
• Renunciation and knowledge: Knowing what is imperishable leads some seekers toward jñāna (knowledge) and renunciation; it also undergirds the confidence needed for fearless action in the world.
• Devotion and personal God: For many devotional traditions, the imperishable is also personal — a Lord to whom one surrenders — and Krishna’s mention of Puruṣottama supports a devotional route in which the supreme reality is both immanent and transcendent.

How different interpretive traditions read Krishna’s division

Scriptural phrases in the Gītā admit more than one careful reading. Several major commentarial streams in Indian thought emphasise different aspects:

• Advaita (e.g., Śaṅkarācārya): Stresses the ultimate non-duality of ātman and Brahman. The imperishable is identical with the absolute; the apparent distinction between perishable and imperishable resolves in knowledge (jnana).
• Viśiṣṭādvaita (e.g., Rāmānuja): Accepts an eternal distinction between individual soul and Brahman, while affirming their inseparable relation. The imperishable is personal and qualified.
• Dvaita (e.g., Madhva): Maintains a firm difference between individual souls and God; the imperishable Supreme remains distinct from individual selves.
• Śaiva and Śākta readings: Texts and theologians in these traditions may adopt similar perishable/imperishable vocabularies but frame the imperishable in terms of Śiva or Śakti respectively; metaphors and soteriological emphases differ.

Gītā commentators also debate whether the “imperishable” is simply the ātman inside each being, or a higher transcendental referent that pervades and surpasses individual selves. Krishna’s mention of a principle beyond kṣara and akṣara (Puruṣottama) intentionally leaves room for both readings.

Implications for ritual, ethics and everyday life

• Funerary and ritual practice: Belief in an imperishable ātman informs traditional rites for the dead and ethical duties toward the living. Rituals often aim to stabilise the surviving community while acknowledging the soul’s continuity.
• Moral courage and decision-making: The teaching is practical: awareness of transience reduces fear of loss and can strengthen resolve to act rightly under pressure.
• Paths to liberation: Different paths (karma — right action; jñāna — knowledge; bhakti — devotion) use the perishable/imperishable distinction differently but converge on the idea that liberation requires reorienting from the transient to the eternal.

Practical cautions

If you adopt practices suggested in scriptures (fasting, prolonged breathwork, rigorous austerities), consult qualified teachers and health professionals; such practices can affect physical and mental health.

Key takeaway

Krishna’s teaching about the perishable and imperishable is an elegant twofold move: it acknowledges the ordinary reality of change and suffering while pointing to an enduring dimension that grounds courage, right action and liberation. Different schools emphasise either the identity or the distinction between individual self and ultimate reality, and the Gītā’s language is open enough to support multiple devotional and philosophical paths. Read historically, the passages steer a listener away from panic about death and toward a life ordered by wisdom and ethical duty.

Glossary reminder: ātman — inner Self; kṣara — perishable; akṣara — imperishable; Puruṣottama — the supreme beyond both categories.