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Chapter 15

पुरुषोत्तमयोग

The Supreme Person (Puruṣottamayoga)

Krishna describes the world as an upside-down tree with roots above, to be cut with the axe of detachment. Every living being is an eternal part of him, and he lives in every heart as the source of memory, knowledge and understanding.

The divine is not far away; it lives in your own heart.

  1. 15.1ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्।Krishna tells Arjuna that the wise speak of an undying ashvattha (sacred fig) tree whose roots are above and branches below. The Vedic hymns are its leaves. Whoever understands this tree truly understands the Vedas.
  2. 15.2अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः।Its branches spread downward and upward, fed by the three gunas (qualities of nature), with sense objects as their buds. Below, in the human world, its roots stretch out further, binding people through their actions.
  3. 15.3न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च संप्रतिष्ठा।Its true form cannot be seen here, nor its end, its beginning or what it stands on. This deeply rooted tree must be cut down with the strong axe of non-attachment.
  4. 15.4ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्य यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः।After that, one should seek the state from which those who reach it never return, thinking: 'I take refuge in that original Being from whom this ancient flow of the world came forth.'
  5. 15.5निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः।Those free of pride and delusion, who have overcome the fault of attachment, who stay focused on the inner Self, whose cravings have ended, and who are released from the opposites called pleasure and pain, reach that eternal state with clear minds.
  6. 15.6न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः।Krishna says: neither the sun, the moon nor fire lights that place. Those who reach it do not come back. That is my supreme home.
  7. 15.7ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः।A part of me, eternal, becomes the individual soul in the world of living beings. It draws to itself the five senses and the mind as the sixth, which rest in nature.
  8. 15.8शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः।When the soul, the master of the body, takes up a body and when it leaves one, it carries the senses and mind along, just as the wind carries scents away from flowers.
  9. 15.9श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च।Using the ear, eye, touch, taste and smell, and the mind too, the soul experiences the objects of the senses.
  10. 15.10उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम्।The deluded do not see the soul as it departs, as it stays in the body or as it enjoys experiences through the gunas. Those with the eye of wisdom do see it.
  11. 15.11यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम्।Yogis who strive see the soul dwelling within themselves. But those whose minds are unrefined and undisciplined do not see it, even when they try.
  12. 15.12यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम्।Krishna says: the light in the sun that lights up the whole world, the light in the moon and the light in fire, know that light to be mine.
  13. 15.13गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा।Entering the earth, I hold up all beings with my energy. Becoming the moon, full of nourishing sap, I feed all the plants.
  14. 15.14अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः।Becoming the digestive fire in the bodies of living beings, and joined with the incoming and outgoing breath, I digest the four kinds of food.
  15. 15.15सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च।I dwell in the hearts of all. From me come memory, knowledge and also their loss. I am what all the Vedas seek to know; I am the source of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
  16. 15.16द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च।There are two kinds of beings in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All living bodies are perishable; the unchanging one within is called imperishable.
  17. 15.17उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः।But beyond both is the highest Being, called the Supreme Self. As the eternal Lord, he enters the three worlds and upholds them.
  18. 15.18यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः।Because I am beyond the perishable and higher even than the imperishable, I am known in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama, the Supreme Person.
  19. 15.19यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम्।Whoever, free from delusion, knows me as the Supreme Person knows everything worth knowing, and worships me with their whole being, O Bharata.
  20. 15.20इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयाऽनघ।Krishna tells Arjuna, the sinless one: I have shared with you this most secret teaching. Whoever understands it becomes truly wise and fulfils all that they must do, O Bharata.