Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 17 (BG 15.17) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

15.17 उत्तमः the Supreme? पुरुषः Purusha? तु but? अन्यः another? परमात्मा the highest? Self? इति thus? उदाहृतः called? यः who? लोकत्रयम् the three worlds? आविश्य pervading? बिभर्ति sustains? अव्ययः the indestructible? ईश्वरः Lord.Commentary Purushottama is beyond the universe though He pervades the three worlds. Therefore He is called the Supreme Being by the Vedas and men of this world. He pervades the three worlds and upholds them yet? He is not tainted by the world. He is above the world or worldliness.Just as the waking state is different from the dram or the deep sleep states? just as the orb of the sun is different from his rays or the mirage they casue? so also is the highest Purusha different from the perishable and the imperishable Purushas.The highest Purusha is the haven of peace. In Him all take their refuge and eternal rest. He is incomparable for He is selfcontained there is nothing like Him. He can only be compared to Himself. The imperishable Being (Akshara Brahman) Who is beyond the world and the Avyaktam (the Unmanifested) are essentially the same as the Purushottama Who transcends both the Kshara and the Akshara.The Purushottama is ite distinct from the two -- Kshara and Akshara. He is the Supreme Being. The physical body? the astral body and the causal body are also termed the Self. But these are secondary selves. Paramatma or the Supreme Self is the primary Self. Purushottama or Paramatma is the supreme or the highest when compared with the other secondary selves created by ignorance. He is the innermost consciousness of all beings. He is the support of everything. He is the Niyanta? the Inner Ruler. He is independent. Therefore He is known as the Supreme Self in the Vedanta.Anyah Another? ite distinct from the two.Lokatrayam The three worlds Bhuh (the earth)? Bhuvah (the midregion) and Svah (heaven) are the three worlds.Purushottama is further described as follows He is the imperishable and omniscient Lord Narayana Who permeates the three worlds by His vital energy and sustains them by His mere existence in them.Avyaya Imperishable? that which is free from the modifications such as birth? death? etc. Just as the king who rules his subjects and controls them is distinct from them? so also the Supreme Being Who is the ruler of the perishable and the imperishable is distinct from them. (Cf.VIII.20)

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

A single person is addressed by different names according to various designations, occupations, and positions. Yet if these relative perspectives are removed, that person does not become void—he remains simply as an undifferentiated individual. Similarly, the Supreme Reality that appears as the perishable person (Kshara Purusha) in the form of the ever-changing world, and as the imperishable person (Akshara Purusha) as the knower of the perishable, is itself distinct from both. This is what is called here the Supreme Person, the Paramatman, and the immutable Lord. Beyond the perishable, it is not merely the imperishable that remains, but the Supreme Person alone—for in the absence of perishability, imperishability too ceases to exist as a relative concept. What remains is the Paramatman, the ultimate substratum of both. This Paramatman, or immutable Lord, pervades all three worlds and sustains them. In Sanskrit, the word "loka" means that which is perceived or experienced. In this sense, "loka" here may refer to the celestial and other realms, or the three states of our familiar experience: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. The one consciousness illumines all three. A crucial point to understand is that these three persons should not be conceived as separate entities. Only the Supreme Person is the ultimate truth, appearing as the perishable and imperishable through two different limiting adjuncts. Without these adjuncts, He remains in His eternal, pure, and unqualified nature. For example, the all-pervading space, limited by a pot and a monastery, appears as pot-space and monastery-space. Yet it is clear that space has not become three different spaces—pot-space, monastery-space, and infinite space. When attention is withdrawn from the limiting adjuncts of pot and monastery, it becomes evident that space is truly one. Similarly, the Supreme Person alone is called the perishable and imperishable through the limiting adjuncts of the seen and the seer. But divested of all adjuncts, He is the Paramatman. In the next verse, Lord Sri Krishna reveals the etymology of the word Purushottama, showing how He is the form of the Supreme Brahman.