The wise one is not born nor does he die; he comes from nowhere, nor did he become from something. Unborn, eternal, perpetual, ancient; he is not killed when the body is killed.

This verse contains one of the most powerful descriptions of the Ātman in all Vedāntic literature. The systematic negation of temporal processes — birth (jāyate), death (mriyate), origin (kutaścit), and becoming (babhūva) — establishes the transcendent nature of the Self.

The vipaścit (wise one, he who sees clearly) is one who understands this truth. It is not merely intellectual knowledge but darśana (direct vision). The term aja (unborn) implies that the Ātman has no beginning, unlike everything in the manifested world that arises from preceding causes.

Nitya (eternal) and śāśvata (perpetual) reinforce this immutability. While nitya indicates absence of change, śāśvata suggests indestructible continuity through time. Purāṇa (ancient) adds the dimension of primordial existence — the Ātman exists before everything else.

The final clause is dramatic: when the śarīra (body) is destroyed (hanyamāne), the Ātman is not destroyed (na hanyate). This is not a consoling promise but a description of reality. Practical yoga consists in establishing oneself in this consciousness of non-death (amṛtatva) while the body still functions.