Bhagavad Gita 15.18यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि 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.
Hindi translation
मैं क्षरसे अतीत हूँ और अक्षरसे भी उत्तम हूँ, इसलिये लोकमें और वेदमें पुरुषोत्तम नामसे प्रसिद्ध हूँ।
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…
- 15.13Permeating the earth, I support all beings with My energy; and having become the watery…
- 15.14Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the bodies of living beings and, associated…
- 15.15And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me come memory and knowledge, as well as their…
- 15.16Two Purushas there are in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are…
- 15.17But distinct is the Supreme Purusha, called the highest Self, indestructible and Lord, who…
15.18As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to…
- 15.19He who, undeluded, knows Me as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all, worships Me with his…
- 15.20Thus, I have imparted to you this most secret science, O sinless one; by knowing this, one…
Word-by-word→
- api
- even
- cha
- and
- aham
- I
- asmi
- I am
- loke
- in the world
- vede
- in the Vedas
- ataḥ
- therefore
- yasmāt
- hence
- atītaḥ
- transcendental
- kṣharam
- to the perishable
- uttamaḥ
- transcendental
- akṣharāt
- to the imperishable
- prathitaḥ
- celebrated
- puruṣha-uttamaḥ
- as the Supreme Divine Personality
Related verses
- 13.32Being without beginning, devoid of any qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though…
- 4.9He who thus knows, in their true light, My divine birth and actions, having abandoned the…
- 5.19Even here in this world, those whose minds rest in reality overcome birth; Brahman is…
- 8.22That highest Purusha, O Arjuna, is attainable by unswerving devotion to Him alone, within…