Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 18

Chapter 15 – Purushottama Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः ।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥

Transliteration

yasmātkṣaramatīto.ahamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ .
ato.asmi loke vedeca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ॥

Meaning

Because I transcend the perishable and am higher even than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Veda as Purushottama, the Supreme Person.

Word meanings

यस्मात् – because
क्षरम् – the perishable
अतीतः – beyond, transcending
अहम् – I
अक्षरात् – than the imperishable
अपि – even
च – and
उत्तमः – higher, supreme
अतः – therefore
अस्मि – I am
लोके – in the world, in the smriti and Puranas
वेदे – in the Veda
च – and
प्रथितः – celebrated, renowned
पुरुषोत्तमः – the Highest Person

Anvaya (word order)

यस्मात् अहम् क्षरम् अतीतः अक्षरात् अपि च उत्तमः, अतः लोके वेदे च पुरुषोत्तमः (इति) प्रथितः अस्मि ।

Explanation

In the previous verse the Supreme Person was spoken of in the third person. Now Krishna reveals Himself: that Supreme Person is ‘I’. It is one of the great moments of the Gita. Arjuna’s charioteer, friend and teacher declares Himself to be the very reality the Vedas seek. The name Purushottama means exactly this: the one who is higher than both the kshara and the akshara Purushas.

Krishna uses two different expressions. He is atita, beyond, the perishable; He is uttama, higher, than the imperishable. Toward the perishable He is not merely superior but wholly transcendent: change does not touch Him. The imperishable is also undecaying, yet He surpasses it. For Shankara, the Lord is beyond the kshara, the tree of samsara, and higher than the akshara, maya, its seed. For Ramanuja, He is beyond the bound self joined to matter and above even the freed self, whose very being, state and bliss depend on Him. For Madhva, Vishnu transcends all souls with perishable bodies and is higher even than the ever-free Lakshmi.

Loke vede cha prathitah, ‘renowned in the world and in the Veda’. Shankara explains loka as the smriti and Puranic literature and veda as the shruti. The phrase uttama purusha appears in the Chandogya Upanishad, and in the Puranas and Itihasa the name is among the best-known titles of Vishnu. So the title is not a self-chosen epithet but one attested by the whole scriptural tradition.

The verse deepens the devotee’s bond with God. The one called upon as a friend is the reality beyond all creation; and the one beyond creation has come near as a charioteer.

Context

Verses 16 and 17 set out the perishable, the imperishable and the Supreme Person. Here Krishna makes plain that He Himself is that Supreme Person, and is therefore called Purushottama, the name the chapter bears. In the next verse He describes the fruit of knowing Him in this way.

Life lesson

God is both nearest to us and beyond everything. Remembering His transcendence keeps us humble, and remembering His nearness keeps us unafraid.

Key terms

Purushottama: the Supreme Person, higher than kshara and akshara
Atita: wholly beyond, untouched
Prathita: renowned, declared in scripture