Chapter 2: Yoga of Knowledge - Verse 19, 20 & 21

Verse 19:

"ya enam vetti hantaram yas cainam manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijanito nayam hanti na hanyate "

(19) He who thinks It(the living entity) a slayer and he who thinks of It as slain - both are ignorant. The man of knowledge knows that Self slays not, nor is slain.
Explanation: Krishna explains to Arjuna that - what is killed, or is supposed to be killed, is the body only. The Soul/Self cannot be destroyed. Self is immutable.
This verse does not saction killing or violence. As Vedic texts dictate - "One should not cause injury to beings.", "The Brahmana shall not be killed.", "Animals should not be slaughtered.", "Never commit violence to anyone." and so on...
Killing or seperating the body from the Self is abominable and punishable. Arjuna, however, is being engaged in killing for the principle of religion and ethical cause.

Verse 20:

"na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire "

(20) The soul is never born and never dies. Having come into being once, the Soul never cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.
Explanation: The Self does not possess any of the charecteristic of the insentient body.
The body is subject to six kinds of transformations. It takes its birth in the womb of a mother, grows, produces some effects, gradually becomes weak, and at last vanishes into oblivion. The soul, however, does not go through such changes. The soul is not born, but, because It takes on a material body, the body takes its birth. The soul does not take birth there, and the soul does not die. Anything which has birth meets death. And because the soul has no birth, he therefore has no past, present or future. He is eternal, ever existing, and primeval - that is, it has existed from time immemorial. The soul does not at any time become old, as the body does. The changes of the body do not affect the soul. The soul does not deterioratenot it has any by-product. Therefore, the soul is free from the six changes of the body.

Verse 21:

"vedavinasinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam katham sa purusah partha kam ghatayati hanti kam "

(21)He who knows this Self to be indistructable, unborn, unchanging and hence eternal - how and whom Arjuna, does he cause to be killed and who does he kill?

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