The Yoga of Knowledge

Krishna offers his most memorable teaching: just as you discard worn clothes (jīrṇāni vāsāṁsi) without grief, the soul (dehī) sheds old bodies and enters new ones. The metaphor is precise—you have a body, you're not the body. This makes death less terrifying for Arjuna: he's not annihilating his relatives, just their current form before they take another. The word dehī (embodied one) captures this: the soul inhabits bodies like you wear clothes. Whether you accept literal reincarnation or not, the practical insight remains: identify with the wearer, not what's worn.