The soul is never born, nor does it ever die

This verse is a precise philosophical refutation of the six transformations (ṣaḍ-vikāra) that define every object in the material universe: birth, existence, growth, modification, decay, and death. By using specific terms, Krishna systematically negates each of these for the soul. The word 'ajaḥ' (unborn) negates the first stage, birth. 'Na hanyate' (is not killed) negates the final stage, death. The terms 'nityaḥ' (eternal) and 'śāśvataḥ' (everlasting) negate the intermediate stages of decay and modification. 'Purāṇaḥ' (primeval) is particularly profound; it means ancient, yet it also implies that which is ever-fresh and not subject to the process of aging or growth. In essence, Krishna is defining the Self not by what it is, but by what it is not. It is that singular reality which is utterly free from the changes that govern all of perceived existence. This verse fundamentally challenges our linear perception of time, upon which our entire ego-identity is built. The ego thinks in a storyline of past, present, and future. But the soul, being 'unborn,' has no beginning, and being indestructible, has no end. It does not exist in time; it is the timeless substratum upon which time itself is perceived. To be 'eternal' does not mean to last for a very long duration; it means to exist in a perpetual 'now' that is beyond the reach of yesterday or tomorrow. This insight is the key to liberation, as it reveals that our psychological burdens of regret (tied to the past) and anxiety (tied to the future) are imposed upon a Self that is, in its true nature, completely untouched by the temporal flow.