Verse 15.18

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः ।

अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥

15.18

Transliteration

yasmātkṣaramatīto'hamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ |

ato'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to be the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

because
the perishable
beyond
I
than the imperishable
even
and
higher

therefore
I am
in the world
in the Veda
and
celebrated
as the supreme person

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Krishna identifies himself with that highest person. Because he surpasses the perishable and is higher even than the imperishable, he is known in common speech and in the Veda as Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person. The name gives the chapter its traditional title. For Arjuna, the friend driving his chariot is revealed once more as the one in whom all levels of reality find their source, a theme that echoes the vision of an earlier chapter.