Do not confuse events that occur in the body with the nature of the soul.

Some people may think that there are those who kill the soul, and some people may think that the soul is killed. However, it is said that they do not know the truth. When you see a body collapse, it looks like a person has been killed. However, what happens to the body and what happens to the soul itself are different things.

The soul is neither the subject that kills nor the object that is killed. However, this does not absolve one of responsibility for violence or actions. It is important to separate ethical responsibility from explanations about the existence of the soul. The main point of this section is that the immutable soul itself does not become an actor or cease to exist due to physical events such as killing or being killed.

Japanese Translation from the Geeta Press Edition - Chapter 2, Section 19: "The soul does not die, nor is it killed."

In the previous section, the speaker demonstrated that the soul is eternal and unchanging, and commanded Arjuna to fight. However, the issue of Arjuna's statement, "I do not want to kill them. It would be better if the sons of Dhritarashtra were to kill me," had not yet been clearly addressed.

In the following section, the author addresses that issue.

He states that it is ignorant to think that the soul can kill or be killed.

Sanskrit original text

य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् ।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥ १९ ॥

Romanization

ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaś cainaṃ manyate hatam |
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate || 19 ||

Those who believe that there are things that can kill the soul, and those who see themselves as having had their souls killed, both are ignorant.

Indeed, the soul cannot be killed, nor can it be killed by anything. (19)

The separation of the subtle body from the gross body is what is called "death." It is the gross body that meets its end. Therefore, in the previous section, it was stated that "all these bodies are subject to destruction."

Similarly, when other physical beings end their lives, the collection of body, mind, and intellect that serves as a means for them to function is called "the killer."

In this way, the killer is also a physical being, not a soul.

However, ignorant people attribute the functions of the body to the soul and consider the soul to be killed by the actor. Therefore, they must reap the bitter fruits of such actions.

In the footnotes, the corresponding passage from the Katha Upanishad (1-2-19) is referenced.