Śivasaṃhitā 1.55

The eternity of Spirit derived from its radically different nature from the five elements. What is composed of earth, water, fire, air, and ether—all perishable—can be destroyed by its own components. Spirit, being composed of nothing, being no element among elements, escapes all possible destruction.

The verse combines two arguments: omnipresence (ātmavyāptam: pervaded by ātman) and eternity (nāśa—destruction—is impossible). Pañcabhūta (the five elements) are the constituents of everything manifested in Indian cosmology. Vṛthātmakaiḥ (of vain, false nature) qualifies these elements as unreal in their own substance.

This argument about the eternity of the ātman through its indecomposable nature appears masterfully in Bhagavad Gītā II.17-20, where Kṛṣṇa teaches Arjuna that the ātman cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried. The Śivasaṃhitā shares this argumentative framework but places it in the broader context of Śaiva and Tantric cosmology.