Krishna is Purushottama, the Supreme Person.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः |अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ||१५-१८||
yasmātkṣaramatīto.ahamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ . ato.asmi loke vedeca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||15-18||
Use this verse as the core Chapter 15 teaching.
Meaning
Because I transcend the perishable and am higher than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama, the Supreme Person.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna declares Himself Purushottama, beyond both perishable and imperishable.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This is the title verse of the chapter. Krishna is not merely another being within reality. He transcends changing beings and even the imperishable principle as the Supreme Person.
Read the traditional commentary
This verse gives the chapter its name and its crowning declaration. Krishna states plainly why He is the Supreme: He transcends the perishable (kṣara) — the entire world of changing forms — and is higher even than the imperishable (akṣara), the unchanging ground that lesser teachings mistake for the final goal. Standing beyond both, He is renowned in both ordinary experience and in the Vedas as Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person.
The word Puruṣottama literally means 'the highest among persons,' and here it becomes Krishna's most exalted title. For the devotee, this verse is profoundly clarifying and reassuring: the ultimate reality is not an impersonal abstraction to be approached with cold philosophy, but the Supreme Person who can be known, loved, and taken refuge in.
All the threads of the chapter — the world-tree, the indwelling soul, the cosmic sustenance, the two purushas — converge here, in the revelation of the one who is above and beyond them all.
In daily life
Make Krishna the highest reference point in understanding life.
A person studying philosophy can let all concepts culminate in personal surrender to Krishna.
Try this today
Repeat Krishna’s name as Purushottama with devotion.
Krishna is the Supreme Person beyond all.Reflect
Do I know Krishna only as an idea or as Purushottama?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘लोके वेदे च’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on supreme self, in other chapters
- Verse 13.23Within this very body dwells a serene witnessing presence that observes everything yet is bound by nothing.
- Verse 10.19The Divine's glories are endless — what is named is only a doorway pointing toward the boundless beyond.
- Verse 11.5The infinite variety of the world is not chaos but the manifold expression of one divine source.
- Verse 2.61Restraining all senses while taking the Divine as the supreme goal establishes the stable platform on which wisdom is firmly grounded.
Swipe left for 15.19 · Knowledge of Purushottama becomes full devotion.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 15.18
Who says Bhagavad Gita 15.18, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 15.18, in Chapter 15, Purushottama Yoga (Purushottama Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 15.18 mean?
Because I transcend the perishable and am higher than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama, the Supreme Person. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 15.18 for daily life?
Make Krishna the highest reference point in understanding life. A person studying philosophy can let all concepts culminate in personal surrender to Krishna.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 15.18 mean?
यस्मात् — because; क्षरम् अतीतः अहम् — I transcend the perishable; अक्षरात् अपि च उत्तमः — and am higher even than the imperishable; अतः अस्मि — therefore I am; लोके वेदे च — in the world and in the Vedas.
Where does verse 15.18 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 18 of 20 in Chapter 15, Purushottama Yoga. The next verse is 15.19.