ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहम् अमृतस्याव्ययस्य च । शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च ॥
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca | śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca ||
Krishna declares: 'I am the ground of Brahman — the Immortal, the Immutable, eternal Dharma, and perfect Bliss.'
Word by word (3)
- brahmaṇaḥ hi pratiṣṭhā aham
- — I (aham) am verily (hi = truly, emphatically) the ground/foundation/abode (pratiṣṭhā) of Brahman — the ultimate grounding of the Absolute in the Personal Divine
- amṛtasya avyayasya ca
- — of the Immortal (amṛta = deathless, the nectar of immortality) and the Imperishable/Immutable (avyaya = without decay or change)
- śāśvatasya dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca
- — of eternal Dharma (śāśvata dharma = the unchanging cosmic law) and of one-pointed/absolute Bliss (aikāntika sukha = unalloyed happiness pointing to one goal alone)
For I am the foundation (pratiṣṭhā) of Brahman — of the Immortal, the Immutable, eternal Dharma, and absolute Bliss.
A modern analogy
If Brahman is the vast ocean, Krishna is the ocean's own heart — the ground where it rests. The chapter's entire philosophy flows from this verse: the guṇas bind the embodied in Prakṛti; bhakti to Krishna transcends Prakṛti; because Krishna is the foundation of Brahman itself, reaching Krishna means reaching the Absolute.
V27 is the CHAPTER SEAL of Ch.14. After the entire analytical edifice of guṇa-teaching (V1-V25) and the bhakti path (V26), Krishna places the capstone: 'I am the foundation of Brahman.' This answers the implicit question: why does bhakti to Krishna specifically transcend the guṇas and lead to Brahman? Because Krishna IS the pratiṣṭhā of Brahman — reaching Krishna means reaching the ground of all existence, immortality, dharma, and bliss.
pratiṣṭhā (foundation/ground) is a carefully chosen term: not 'I am Brahman' (which would be the Advaitic aham brahmāsmi) but 'Brahman rests in Me' — preserving Krishna's personal distinctness while affirming His ultimacy. The four attributes — amṛta, avyaya, śāśvata dharma, aikāntika sukha — are the four faces of Brahman that Ch.14 has been pointing to throughout: the immortal liberation promised in V20, the immutable Puruṣa of V32, the eternal Dharma as foundation of the guṇa-order, and the pure bliss that is Brahman's nature beyond guṇa-pleasure.
Advaita lens
In Advaita Vedānta, brahmaṇaḥ pratiṣṭhāham is the Saguna-Brahman (the Personal God Krishna) declaring His identity-ground with Nirguṇa-Brahman (the Formless Absolute). pratiṣṭhā (foundation) is preferred over 'I am' because it preserves both the Personal and the Impersonal dimensions without collapsing one into the other. From the Advaitic summit: the Saguna and Nirguṇa are not different — Krishna IS Brahman, Brahman expresses as Krishna. amṛtam, avyayam, śāśvata-dharma, aikāntika-sukha are Brahman's svarūpa-lakṣaṇas (intrinsic characteristics) revealed through Krishna's personhood.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti schools, V27 is the ultimate theological foundation: the highest Absolute (Brahman) is not an impersonal void but has its pratiṣṭhā in the living, loving Person of Krishna. Immortality (amṛta), eternal Dharma, and absolute Bliss (aikāntika sukha) are not merely philosophical categories — they are the fragrance of the Divine Beloved Himself. The devotee's ānanda (bliss) in bhakti is not projection onto an indifferent cosmos: it is contact with the aikāntika sukha that is the very nature of Brahman's ground.
Karma-Yoga lens
The karma yogi finds in V27 the ultimate justification for selfless action: śāśvatasya dharmasya pratiṣṭhā = I am the foundation of eternal Dharma. Dharmic action is not arbitrary social convention or cultural rule — it participates in the eternal Dharma whose ground is Brahman Itself. When the karma yogi acts in alignment with dharma, they are acting in alignment with the ground of all existence. This is why niskāma karma (action without clinging to fruits) is liberation-oriented: it aligns with śāśvata dharma, whose foundation is the Immortal, Immutable, and Blissful.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
For I am the abode of Brahman, the Immortal and the Immutable, the Eternal Dharma, and the unfailing Bliss. [1]
For I am the abode of Brahman, the Immortal and Immutable, of everlasting Dharma and of Absolute Bliss. [4]
For I am the source of the Brahman, of the immortal and the imperishable, of the eternal law, and of absolute happiness. [9]
I am the foundation of Brahman, the immortal, the immutable, the eternal, of the divine law, and of absolute bliss. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
You are the Imperishable, the Supreme — Refuge of all, undying Guardian of Eternal Dharma, Ancient Puruṣa.
The duties of Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras are distributed by the guṇas born of their own nature.
From whom all beings arise, by whom all is pervaded — worshiping THAT through one's own duty, one attains perfection.
Even doing all actions always, with refuge in Me — by My grace one attains the eternal imperishable abode.
Whoever studies this sacred dialogue — by him I shall have been worshipped by jñāna-yajña; such is My conviction.
Quickly he becomes righteous and attains eternal peace — declare it, O Kuntī's son: My devotee is never destroyed.