Bhagavad Gita · 15.18 · The Yoga of the Supreme Divine Personality·18 of 20
यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः।अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥
yasmāt kṣharam atīto ’ham akṣharād api
chottamaḥ ato ’smi loke vede cha prathitaḥ puruṣhottamaḥ
Sanskrit recitation
The supreme person · 15.12–15.20 · Teaching
Translation
As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to be the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas.
Meaning
Purushottama is a wellknown name of the Lord. The name is ite appropriate as He is the supreme Purusha.Kshara The perishable -- the tree of Samsara.Akshara The imperishable -- the seed of the tree of Samsara.Because I excel the perishable (the tree of illusory Samsara) and am more excellent also than the imperishable (the seed of the tree of the illusory Samsara) and because I am thus superior to the perishable and the imperishable, I am proclaimed in the world and in the Vedas as the highest Purusha. Devotees know Me as such. Poets also describe Me as such.I am beyond all limitations. There is no trace of dualism in Me. Therefore, I am called by all and by the scriptures the highest Purusha.
After Swami Sivananda
The supreme person· 15.12–15.20→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 15.12That light which resides in the sun, illuminating the whole world; that which is in the moon and in the fire—know that light to be Mine.
- 15.13Permeating the earth, I support all beings with My energy; and having become the watery moon, I nourish all herbs.
- 15.14Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the bodies of living beings and, associated with the Prana and the Apana, digest the fourfold food.
- 15.15And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me come memory and knowledge, as well as their absence. I am verily That which has to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
- 15.16Two Purushas there are in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are perishable, and the Kutastha—the unchanging—is called the imperishable.
- 15.17But distinct is the Supreme Purusha, called the highest Self, indestructible and Lord, who pervades the three worlds and sustains them.
15.18As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to be the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas.
- 15.19He who, undeluded, knows Me as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole being (heart), O Arjuna.
- 15.20Thus, I have imparted to you this most secret science, O sinless one; by knowing this, one becomes wise, and all their duties are accomplished, O Arjuna.
Word-by-word→
- yasmāt
- hence
- kṣharam
- to the perishable
- atītaḥ
- transcendental
- aham
- I
- akṣharāt
- to the imperishable
- api
- even
- cha
- and
- uttamaḥ
- transcendental
- ataḥ
- therefore
- asmi
- I am
- loke
- in the world
- vede
- in the Vedas
- prathitaḥ
- celebrated
- puruṣha-uttamaḥ
- as the Supreme Divine Personality
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