Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Chapter-15. Slokam-18.

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Thursday, January 14, 2021. 09:25. AM.

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Srimad Bhagavad-Gita
Chapter-15.
Slokam-18.

"yasmat   ksharamtitoham  aksharadapi  cottamah,

atosmi   loke   vede  ca  prathitah  purushottamah."

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Translation :

yasmat  aham  =  because  of  which  one,  I;

ksharam  atitah  =  remain  overcomming  the  perishing  nature ( Ksharam );

api  ca  =  not  only  that;

aksharat  uttamah  =  and  up  above  the  akasharam  state  ( Supreme  above  imperishable );

atah aham  loke  =  because  of  that  I  am  in  all  worlds;

vede  ca  purushottamah  =  and  in  Veda-s  too,  as  the  Supreme  God-head ( Purushottaman);

prathitah  asmi  =  mentioned  as  celebrated.

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Tatvam :

Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person.

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Discourse :

One may not comprehend that the Supreme Being and Lord Krishna are the same because of the fact that Lord Krishna, Himself refers to the Supreme being as interpenetrating all the worlds. To remove any vestiges of misunderstanding Lord Krishna construes this verse with the etymological expression of the preceeding verse with Himself in the first person singular stating: Since I am transcendental to ksarah which is the perishable, the insentient, material nature as well as transcendental to aksarah the imperishable, the eternal, the atma or immortal soul; the Supreme Lord is known as Purusottama the Supreme Being. 

The Svetasvatara Upanisad VI.XVI beginning sa vishva krid vishva avid atma states: The Supreme Being is the creator of everything as well as the knower of everything. He is also the absolute controller of everything. He is the cause of liberation from material existence by the jivas or embodied beings and it is due to aversion to Him that jivas are entangled in samsara the perpetual cycle of birth and death. 

The Vishnu Sahasranama, verse 16 is states that the Supreme Lord is paramount among all beings. The Puranas glorify Him as the Supreme Sovereign of all that exists and the Narada Pancaratra states: O Supreme Lord as you are the Supreme Being you must save me for I am extremely unfortunate drowning in the ocean of material existence. In this way Lord Krishna is known in the world and in the Vedic scriptures as Purusottama.

The reality of the Supreme Lord Krishna's transcendence to both the ksarah or perishable which includes all jivas or embodied beings as well as aksarah or imperishable including all the atmas or immortal souls. He is celebrated and gloridied as Purusottama the Supreme Being. The word loke obviously means worlds but due to its proximity to vede meaning the Vedas it can refer to the smriti's such as the Vishnu Purana V.XVII.XXXIII which states: Incarnations of Purusottama descending from Vishnu are without a beginning, middle or end. 

An example from sruti is the Chandogya Upanisad VIII.XII.III beginning: evamevaisa samprasado asma charirat samuthaya param states: Achieving liberation the spiritsoul attains a glorious effulgent form revelling in its position at the feet of the Supreme Being. So in conclusion loke vede can mean that the Supreme Lord celebrated as Purusottama is glorified in both sections of the Vedic scriptures known as sruti and smriti and it can mean that He is glorifeied in all the worlds.

In this verse the Supreme Lord Krishna confirms His position as Purusottama the Supreme Being of all existence by His validation of transcendence to both the ksarah or perishable and aksarah or imperishable; along with all jivas or embodied beings in bondage as well as those liberated from samsara or the perpetual cycle of birth and death. Therfore throughout creation and in the Vedic scriptures He is celebrated and reknown as Purusottama. The Brihadaranya Upanisad V.VI.I beginning manomayo-ayam puruso states: The resplendent supreme being is the ruler and lord of all governing all that exists.

To be continued  .....

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