द्वाव् इमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश् चाक्षर एव च । क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थो ऽक्षर उच्यते ॥
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca | kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate ||
Two puruṣas: kṣara (all mutable beings) and akṣara (kūṭastha, immutable ground) — both about to be transcended.
Word by word (3)
- dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca
- — two (dvau) puruṣas here (imau) in the world (loke): the kṣara (perishable/mutable) and the akṣara (imperishable/immutable)
- kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni
- — the kṣara is all beings (sarvāṇi bhūtāni) — all manifest, embodied, changing existence is the 'perishable' realm
- kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate
- — the kūṭastha (that which stands on top, unchanged, like an anvil — kūṭa = peak/anvil) is called akṣara (the imperishable) — the unmanifest ground of existence
There are two puruṣas in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings make up the perishable. The kūṭastha — the unchanging — is called the imperishable.
A modern analogy
In a river, the flowing water is kṣara (ever-changing), and the riverbed is akṣara (remains while the water moves). But there is something even beyond both — the source-spring that gives rise to the river AND the bed: that is the Puruṣottama to be introduced in V17.
V16 sets up the three-tier ontology of Ch.15's climax. After the cosmological and somatic manifestations (V12-15), Krishna now introduces the framework that V17-19 will use to declare His own supreme status. The kṣara-akṣara distinction maps to Sāṃkhya (prakṛti vs. puruṣa) but is about to be superseded by the third Puruṣa, Puruṣottama, who transcends both. This is the Gita's distinctive contribution to the puruṣa-theory.
Kṣara = all manifested, embodied existence (the changing world); akṣara = the unmanifest, unchanging principle (māyā's unmanifest state, or the individual ātman in its stable aspect — interpretations vary). The Advaita reading: kṣara = vyāvahārika (empirical), akṣara = pāramārthika-of-the-individual-soul level, Puruṣottama (V17) = Brahman beyond all gradation. The three-level structure is ontological, not merely theological.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING — SH Ch.15 V16 not indexed; Telang and Ganguli used as primary. [1]
There are two Purushas in the world: the Perishable and the Imperishable — all beings are the Perishable, and the Kutastha is called Imperishable. [4]
There are these two beings in the world, the destructible and the indestructible. The destructible includes all things. The unconcerned one is what is called the indestructible. [9]
There are two beings in this (world): the destructible and the indestructible. All things (here) are the destructible; the Kuta (the unconsolidated) is called the indestructible. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. The all-pervading ultimate is present in every act of yajna.
Therefore remember Me at all times and fight — mind and intellect fixed on Me, you will come to Me without doubt.
Arise and win glory! These warriors are already slain by Me — be merely the instrument, O Savyasācin!
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
All beings arise from these two natures as their womb — and I am the origin and dissolution of the entire universe.