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Bhagavad Gita 15.18

Krishna explains that being beyond the perishable and imperishable makes him Purushottama.

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः॥

yasmātkṣaramatīto'hamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ
ato'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ

Translation

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

Hindi

क्योंकि मैं क्षर से परे हूँ और अक्षर से भी उत्तम हूँ, इसलिए लोक में और वेद में मैं पुरुषोत्तम नाम से प्रसिद्ध हूँ।

Commentary

This verse gives the chapter its name. Krishna places himself above both the perishable and the imperishable, and the title Purushottama means the best of persons. Ramanuja and Madhva take this as the clearest statement of the Lord's supremacy, and it sets up the invitation to devotion in 15.19.

Characters in this verse