Chapter 15, Verse 17
उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युधाहृतः | यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ||१५-१७||
uttamaḥ puruṣastvanyaḥ paramātmetyudhāhṛtaḥ . yo lokatrayamāviśya bibhartyavyaya īśvaraḥ ||15-17||
Meaning
15.17 But distinct is the Supreme Purusha called the highest Self, the indestructible Lord Who, pervading the three worlds, sustains them.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Having spoken of the perishable and the imperishable, Krishna now unveils the supreme reality that transcends both. The Uttama Puruṣa — the Highest Person — is distinct from both the changing world and the unchanging ground. He is named Paramātmā, the Supreme Self, the indestructible Lord (avyaya īśvara) who enters and pervades the three worlds and sustains them all.
This is a vital teaching for the spiritual seeker. It is possible to realize the imperishable, changeless Self and yet still fall short of the highest truth, which is a living, personal Lord — not merely an abstract principle but the conscious sustainer of all that exists. Krishna distinguishes the impersonal absolute from the Supreme Person who is its source. By pervading and upholding the three worlds, He shows that the ultimate reality is not a remote void but an intimate, sustaining presence actively holding all of creation in being. The seeker's goal is communion with this Supreme Self.
💡 Key Takeaway
Beyond both the changing and the unchanging stands the Supreme Self who sustains all worlds.
Related Verses
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः | तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये | यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ||१५-४||
tataḥ padaṃ tatparimārgitavyaṃ yasmingatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ . tameva cādyaṃ puruṣaṃ prapadye . yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī ||15-4||
15.4 Then That goal should be sought for, whither having gone none returns again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha Whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy.
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः | यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ||१५-६||
na tadbhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ . yadgatvā na nivartante taddhāma paramaṃ mama ||15-6||
15.6 Neither doth the sun illumine there nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone thither they return not; that is My supreme abode.
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् | यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ||१५-१२||
yadādityagataṃ tejo jagadbhāsayate.akhilam . yaccandramasi yaccāgnau tattejo viddhi māmakam ||15-12||
15.12 That light which residing in the sun illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire know that light to be Mine.