In plain words
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings; nor will any of us cease to be hereafter.
Word for word
But never indeed was I not, nor you, nor these rulers of men; and never indeed shall we all not be, hereafter.
The commentators
Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
कुतस्ते अशोच्याः, यतो नित्याः । कथम् ? —
न तु एव जातु कदाचित् अहं नासम् , किं तु आसमेव । अतीतेषु देहोत्पत्तिविनाशेषु घटादिषु वियदिव नित्य एव अहमासमित्यभिप्रायः । तथा न त्वं न आसीः, किं तु आसीरेव । तथा न इमे जनाधिपाः न आसन् , किं तु आसन्नेव । तथा न च एव न भविष्यामः, किं तु भविष्याम एव, सर्वे वयम् अतः अस्मात् देहविनाशात् परम् उत्तरकाले अपि । त्रिष्वपि कालेषु नित्या आत्मस्वरूपेण इत्यर्थः । देहभेदानुवृत्त्या बहुवचनम् , नात्मभेदाभिप्रायेण ॥ १२ ॥
In plain words
Why are they beyond grieving for? Because they are eternal. How so? —
It was never once true, at any time, that 'I did not exist' — I always did exist, the way space itself exists even while pots inside it are formed and shattered. That's the meaning: I was eternal. In just the same way, it was never true that you didn't exist — you always did. Nor these kings gathered here — they always existed too. And it isn't true that we won't exist after this — all of us will, even after the body falls away, in whatever time comes next. In all three times — past, present, future — we are eternal in our real nature as the Self. The plural 'we shall be' only reflects the ongoing succession of different bodies, not any actual difference in the Self itself.
Close to the Sanskrit
From what [reason] are they not to be grieved for? Because [they are] eternal. How? —
It is not at all, ever, [true that] 'I did not exist' — rather, I did exist indeed. In the past — through the arisings and destructions of bodies, like pots and so on — I existed, eternal indeed, like space; such is the purport. Likewise, [it is] not [true that] 'you did not exist' — rather, you existed indeed. Likewise, [it is] not [true that] 'these rulers of men did not exist' — rather, they existed indeed. Likewise, [it is] not [true] that we shall not be — rather, we shall indeed be, all of us, from this point, after the destruction of the body, even in the time to come. [We are] eternal in all three times, by our real nature as the Self — this is the meaning. The plural expression [we shall be] is due to the continuity of bodily difference, not with the intention of a difference of Self.
Gītā Vāhini
“చాలు, పిచ్చివాడా! లేచి సిద్ధముకమ్ము. లేని మమకారమును తలకు రుద్దుకొని మొద్దువలే కూలినావు. సర్వమునకూ సర్వేశ్వరుడు కారణము కానీ, నీవు కావు. అట్టి ప్రచండ శక్తి ఒకటి కలదు. ఆ శక్తిని వారు గ్రహించినందున ఎట్టి ప్రళయాలకూ వెరువరు. క్షత్రియులకు యుద్ధము ధారాతీర్థము, దీనిని బాగుగా తెలిసికొనియే భీష్మద్రోణాదులు యుద్ధములో దేహమును వీడి తరించవలెనని వచ్చిరి. చూడు, వారు నీవలే ఏడ్చుచున్నారేమో! వారు ఏనాటికినీ నీవలే శోకించరు, వెనుదీయరు. అర్జునా! నీకిది గట్టి పరీక్షా ఘట్టము సుమా!” అని అంతటితో విడువక, “పార్థా! ఎప్పుడు కూడనూ నేను లేనిది గానీ లేకుండినది గానీ లేదు. ఇంతేల? నీవునూ, ఈ రాజులును, ఈ సైన్యమును కూడను అంతే. ఎప్పుడునూ మనమందరమూ లేకుండా పోలేదు.” అని “తత్” పదమైన పరమాత్మకూ “త్వం” పరమైన జీవాత్మకూ ఏకత్వము చెప్పి “తత్త్వమసి” మహావాక్యార్థాన్ని బోధించెను. కుండకు పూర్వము మట్టి యెట్లు ఉండునో కల్పితమునకు పూర్వము అధిష్ఠానముండియే యున్నది.
In plain words
“Enough, madman! Get up and make ready. You have rubbed a mamakāra that does not even exist onto your head and collapsed like a log. The Lord of all is the cause of everything, not you. There is such a fierce power, and because they have grasped that power, they fear no cataclysm whatever. For kṣatriyas, war is a holy ford at the sword’s edge. Knowing this well, Bhīṣma, Droṇa and the rest have come resolved to leave the body in battle and so cross over. Look: are they weeping like you, I wonder! They will never grieve as you do, nor turn back. Arjuna! Mark this: this is a hard hour of testing for you!” Nor did He stop there: “Pārtha! There is no time at all when I am not, or when I was not. Why say more? So it is with you, with these kings, and with this army as well. Never have any of us ceased to be.” With this, declaring the oneness of the Paramātma, meant by the word “Tat”, and the jīvātma, meant by “Tvam”, He taught the meaning of the mahāvākya “Tat tvam asi”. Just as clay exists before the pot, so before whatever is imagined, the adhiṣṭhāna is already there.