यस्मात् क्षरम् अतीतो ऽहम् अक्षराद् अपि चोत्तमः । अतो ऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥
yasmāt kṣaram atīto 'ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ | ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
Because I transcend both kṣara and akṣara, I am known in world and Veda as Puruṣottama — the Highest Puruṣa.
Word by word (3)
- yasmāt kṣaram atīto 'ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ
- — because (yasmāt) I transcend (atītaḥ) the kṣara AND am higher (uttamaḥ) even than (api ca) the akṣara — the logic of transcendence stated explicitly
- ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ
- — therefore (ataḥ) I am celebrated/renowned (prathitaḥ) in the world (loke) and in the Veda (vede) — the name has cosmic and scriptural authority
- puruṣottamaḥ
- — Puruṣottama — the Highest Puruṣa; uttama-puruṣa contracted; the name is simultaneously a grammatical superlative and a revealed name of the Divine
Because I transcend the perishable and am higher even than the imperishable, therefore I am celebrated both in the world and in the Veda as Puruṣottama — the Supreme Person.
A modern analogy
In a temperature scale, ice and water are both 'water' — one frozen, one fluid. Steam is 'above' both and contains both. Puruṣottama is not just steam — He is the energy that makes ice ice, water water, and steam steam. The name Puruṣottama is like finally giving a name to the energy itself, not just its three forms.
V18 names what V17 described. This is a teaching device: describe fully first (V17), then name (V18). The name Puruṣottama is both a logical conclusion (yasmāt... ataḥ) and a revelation — it appears in the world and the Veda as the supreme name. The structure yasmāt-ataḥ (because-therefore) makes this the most syllogistically structured verse in the chapter: the name is earned by the argument, not merely asserted.
The 'loke vede ca' (in the world AND in the Veda) is important — Puruṣottama is not a Gita-specific innovation but is prathitaḥ (celebrated) both in popular culture and in Vedic scripture. Śaṅkara notes that Puruṣottama-vidyā (the teaching of Ch.15) is found in the Vedas (especially the Puruṣasūkta and Nārāyaṇa sūktas). The Gita is not inventing the concept but crystallizing it.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Because I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, therefore am I known in the world and in the Veda as Purushottama, the Highest Spirit. [1]
As I transcend the Perishable and am above even the Imperishable, therefore am I in the world and in the Veda celebrated as Purushottama, the Highest Purusha. [4]
Since I transcend the destructible and since I am higher also than the indestructible, therefore am I known as the Puruṣottama in the world and in the Vedas. [9]
Because I surpass the destructible and am also higher than even the indestructible, therefore, in the world and in the Veda, am I celebrated as Purushottama. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Approach the teacher with prostration, inquiry, and service. The knowers of truth will instruct you in jñāna.
O Pārtha — no destruction for that one, neither here nor hereafter. For never does any doer of good come to an evil end.
Even if the most sinful worships Me with undivided devotion — he must be deemed righteous, for he has rightly resolved.
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
More daivī qualities: ahiṃsā, satya, akrodha, tyāga, śānti, apaiśuna, dayā, aloluptva, mārdava, hrī, acāpala.