Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, nor does wind dry it.

This quatrain describes the invulnerability of the Ātman to the four classical elements that represent all forms of material destruction. Śastrāṇi (weapons) represent external physical force, pāvakaḥ (fire) transformative energy, āpaḥ (waters) fluid force, and mārutaḥ (wind) dissolving force.

The repetitive structure na enaṃ (not this, not it) emphasizes the absolute unaffectedness of the Self. These elements that constitute and destroy the physical body have no jurisdiction over the Ātman. It is not that it resists — they operate in completely different dimensions.

The verbs are significant: chindanti (cut) suggests division, dahati (burn) indicates destructive transformation, kledayanti (wet) implies alteration of state, and śoṣayati (dry) represents privation and emptying. The Ātman remains immutable before all these operations.

This description is practically identical to that of the Bhagavad Gītā (2.23), showing the continuity of this teaching in the tradition. In the practice of yoga, meditating on these verses dissolves the fear of death and loss. When one identifies with the Ātman instead of the body, every physical threat is relativized. True protection is knowledge of the Self.