स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम | भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते ||१५||
svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottama | bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate || 15 ||
You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Puruṣottama, Maker of beings, God of Gods — tell me Your vibhūtis.
Word by word (3)
- svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottama
- — You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Puruṣottama · svayam = Yourself, by Yourself (reflexive — 'by Your own nature, through Your own self-knowing'). eva = alone, only (emphatic — 'You ALONE'). ātmanā = by the Self (instrumental of ātman — 'through Your own self; by Your own nature'). ātmānam = Yourself (accusative — 'Yourself as the object of knowing'). vettha = You know (perfect tense of √vid = to know; vettha = second person singular perfect = 'You have known, You know deeply' — the perfect tense gives it the weight of established and complete knowing). tvaṃ = You. puruṣottama = O Puruṣottama (purūṣa = person, the cosmic Person + uttama = highest, supreme; puruṣottama = 'O Supreme Person' — this is one of Krishna's highest titles in the Gita; Ch.15 is named Puruṣottama Yoga and V15.18 gives the full definition: 'uttama puruṣas tv anyaḥ = the Puruṣottama is different from both the mutable and immutable'). svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha = 'You alone know Yourself by Yourself.' This is the Gita's version of the Upaniṣadic teaching that Brahman can only be known by Brahman (Bṛhadāraṇyaka: 'ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ' — the Self is to be seen; Chāndogya: 'tat tvam asi'). The complete self-knowing of the divine is the ground of V14's epistemological limit: devā na dānavāḥ cannot know because only the divine knows itself through itself.
- bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate
- — O Maker of beings, O Lord of beings, O God of Gods, O Lord of the universe · bhūta-bhāvana = O Maker/Cause of beings (bhūta = being, creature; bhāvana = one who causes to be, creator, nourisher — from √bhū = to be, with causal bhāvana = 'one who causes beings to be'; bhūta-bhāvana = 'Maker and Nourisher of all beings'). bhūteśa = O Lord of beings (bhūta + īśa = lord; bhūteśa = 'Lord of all beings' — the sovereign). deva-deva = O God of Gods (deva + deva = the god among gods; the superlative/reduplication construction meaning 'the divine of the divine, the highest divine'). jagat-pate = O Lord of the world (jagat = world, the moving universe — from √gam = to go; jagat = 'the moving one, the ever-changing universe'; pati = lord, protector — from √pā = to protect; jagat-pate = vocative 'O Lord of the world'). V15's four closing epithets: bhūta-bhāvana (Maker) + bhūteśa (Lord) + deva-deva (God of Gods) + jagat-pate (Lord of the universe). These four span all cosmic relationships: the divine as SOURCE (Maker/Bhāvana) + SOVEREIGN (Lord/Īśa) + HIGHEST (God of Gods) + UNIVERSAL (Lord of the whole universe). Together with V12's eight epithets: V12-V15 give Arjuna's complete recognition in 12 divine titles across 4 verses.
- svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha — the self-knowing divine and Arjuna's opening of the vibhūti request
- — V15's profound philosophical statement (only You know Yourself by Yourself) simultaneously grounds the epistemological limit of V14 AND opens Arjuna's request: 'since only You know Yourself, please tell me Your vibhūtis' · V15 functions as the pivot between Arjuna's recognition (V12-V15) and his request for the vibhūti catalogue (V16-V18). The structure: (1) svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha (only You know Yourself) → epistemological ground: since the divine's self-knowing is complete and exclusive, only the divine can REVEAL the vibhūtis; (2) the four epithets (bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate) → relational frame: as Maker, Lord, God of Gods, Universe-Lord, You have the complete perspective; (3) [implicit bridge to V16] → 'therefore, tell me Your divine glories — since only You can know and reveal them.' V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha is one of the Gita's most philosophically rich compressed statements: it affirms the divine's complete self-knowing (a claim that Brahman knows itself fully, unlike finite consciousness which has blind spots) while simultaneously acknowledging the radical otherness of the divine's self-knowing from all external knowing (devā na dānavāḥ — not even gods can access this self-knowing). The Upaniṣadic resonance: Bṛhadāraṇyaka 2.4.5 — 'brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati' = one who knows Brahman becomes Brahman; the only way to know the divine fully is to BE the divine knowing itself. V15 names this paradox directly.
V15 is the philosophical summit of Arjuna's recognition cascade (V12-V15): svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottama (You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Supreme Person). Only the divine's self-knowing is complete — gods and demons (V14) cannot access it. V15 then adds four epithets (bhūta-bhāvana, bhūteśa, deva-deva, jagat-pate) that ground the implicit request: 'You who are the Maker, Lord, and God of the cosmos — please reveal what only You can reveal.' V16-V18 will complete this request explicitly.
A modern analogy
Only the composer fully knows the music they composed — its sources, its intentions, its full meaning. A musicologist can analyze it brilliantly but cannot know it the way the composer does. V15 says this about the divine: only the divine fully knows its own manifestation (vibhūti). This is why Arjuna's request (V16-V18) is necessary — he cannot deduce the vibhūtis; they must be revealed. The request is not weakness but wisdom: knowing the limits of external analysis and asking the source.
What it does NOT mean
V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha is not a statement of divine aloofness — as if the divine knows itself and keeps this knowing inaccessible to all. The entire Ch.10 (V1-V11 + the vibhūti catalogue V20-V42) is the divine's self-revelation in response to devotion. V15 grounds the REQUEST for revelation: 'only You know Yourself' is the reason Arjuna asks — not a wall but an opening: 'Since only You know, please tell me.'
Take with you
- V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha as a teaching on the inner guru: the only complete knowing of the divine comes from within (the divine knowing itself through itself). This supports V11's antaryāmin teaching: the inner teacher is the divine knowing itself, illuminating from within. External teachers transmit pointers; the inner knowing is the destination.
- V15's five epithets (puruṣottama + four closing) as a meditation cascade: puruṣottama (Supreme Person) → bhūta-bhāvana (Maker of beings) → bhūteśa (Lord of beings) → deva-deva (God of Gods) → jagat-pate (Lord of the universe). From the cosmic-personal (puruṣottama) to the universal-sovereign (jagat-pate) in five steps. Hold each for a minute in morning meditation: who is the Supreme Person? Who is the Maker of all beings? Who is the Lord? The God? The Universe-Lord? Let each recognition deepen.
- V15 as the pivot to asking: after recognition (V12-V15) comes the request (V16-V18). In your own practice: after a period of devotional recognition (bhajana, prayer, study) — ask a specific question. V15's pattern: first recognize who you are addressing, then ask from that recognition. This makes questions more grounded than asking from confusion alone.
V10.15 contains one of the Gita's most philosophically concentrated statements: svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha (You alone know Yourself by Yourself). This is both an epistemological claim and a theological one: Epistemological: the divine's self-knowing is complete and exclusive — no external knower can access the full vyakti (manifestation) of the divine through any external means. This grounds V14's na hi te vyaktiṃ vidur devā: gods cannot know the divine's full manifestation because that manifestation can only be known from within (ātmanā ātmānam = by the Self, the Self). Theological: the divine's self-knowing is the model for the highest knowing available to the individual: through ātman-realization (recognizing the ātman as identical with Brahman in Advaita), the individual participates in the divine's self-knowing. This is the Upaniṣadic resonance: 'brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati' (Muṇḍaka) — one who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. The five epithets (puruṣottama + four) give the relational context for this self-knowing: the being who knows itself by itself is ALSO the maker of beings (bhūta-bhāvana), the lord of beings (bhūteśa), the highest divine (deva-deva), and the sovereign of the universe (jagat-pate). The self-knowing divine is not isolated or abstract — it is engaged with creation at every level. V15's structure: svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha (the self-knowing) + five epithets of cosmic engagement = the Gita's answer to the problem of the transcendent-yet-immanent divine: it knows itself fully (transcendence) AND is the maker, lord, and sovereign of the entire cosmos (immanence). Both aspects are held in V15.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha = only Brahman knows Brahman — the paramātman knows itself through its own nature (svayam = svayaṃ-prakāśa = self-luminous). The jīva (individual soul) can participate in this self-knowing only through ātman-realization: recognizing that its own ātman IS the paramātman. V15's svayam vettha is the ground of the advaita teaching: the divine's self-knowing and the jīva's deepest self-knowing are the same knowing.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V15 grounds the necessity of divine revelation (V20-V42 to come): since only the divine knows itself (svayam vettha), the devotee cannot derive the vibhūtis through study or inference — they must be GIVEN by the divine out of anukampa (V11's compassion). The vibhūti catalogue is thus the divine's self-gift to the devoted, made possible by the prīti-pūrva bhajana of V10 and the recognition of V12-V15.
Karma-Yoga lens
V15 for karma yoga: the puruṣottama (Supreme Person) is the ultimate reference point for karma yoga. Tilak: the karma yogi's action (karma) is oriented toward the puruṣottama — the highest person who is both the world's maker (bhūta-bhāvana) and its lord (jagat-pate). Acting for the puruṣottama's world-order is the karma yogi's purpose, grounded in V15's recognition of who that puruṣottama is.
Modern parallels
V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha parallels Gödel's incompleteness theorem in a suggestive (if non-rigorous) way: any formal system cannot completely describe itself from within itself; a meta-level is needed. V15 says the divine's self-knowing is complete (not incomplete like finite systems) precisely BECAUSE it IS the meta-level of all existence — there is no further level above it to provide external validation. The divine's vettha (knowing) is self-sealing completeness.
Practice
V15 self-knowing meditation: sit quietly and hold svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha — 'You know Yourself by Yourself.' Then turn this inward: 'Does the deepest awareness in me know itself?' Let awareness become aware of itself (not thinking about awareness, but awareness noticing itself directly). This is the closest human practice to V15's divine self-knowing — and in Advaita, the closest approach to the divine itself. 20 minutes.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Verily, Thou Thyself knowest Thyself by Thyself, O Supreme Purusha, O Source of beings, O Lord of beings, O Deva of Devas, O Ruler of the World. [4]
Thou alone knowest thyself by thy Self, Supreme Spirit, Creator and Master of all that lives, God of Gods, and Lord of all the universe! [6]
Thou Thyself / Thyself alone dost know, Maker Supreme! / Master of all the living! Lord of Gods! / King of the Universe! [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Because I transcend both kṣara and akṣara, I am known in world and Veda as Puruṣottama — the Highest Puruṣa.
Declare fully Your divine attributes by which You pervade and sustain all these worlds, O Bhagavān.
Primal God, Ancient Puruṣa, supreme Refuge — Knower and Known and supreme Abode — by You is this universe pervaded!
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
I am the ātman, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the heart of all beings — their beginning, middle, and end.
But why such detail, O Arjuna? With a single fragment of Myself I establish and uphold this entire universe.