Kṛṣṇa begins the instruction on the immortality of the soul. He states that there was never a time when He did not exist, nor Arjuna, nor all the kings present on the battlefield. Furthermore, He says that none of them will ever cease to exist in the future. This verse establishes the eternal individuality of the soul. Kṛṣṇa confirms that our existence is not a temporary fluke of matter, but a permanent spiritual reality. This crushes Arjuna’s fear of ‘killing’ the kings, for if the soul never dies, their existence is not being terminated, only their physical covering is being removed. Kṛṣṇa uses the plural ‘vayam’ (we), showing that both God and the individual souls are eternally distinct individuals. This is the foundation of spiritual understanding: we are eternal beings who have existed in the past and will continue to exist forever, regardless of the fate of our bodies.