BHAGAVAD-GITA 15:18

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 15:18

 

yasmat ksaram atito 'ham

aksarad api cottamah

ato 'mi loke vede ca

prathitah purusottamah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

yasmat--because; ksaram--to the fallible; atitah--transcendental;

aham--I am; aksarat--beyond the infallible; api--also; ca--and;

uttamah--the best; atah--therefore; asmi--I am; loke--in the world;

vede--in the Vedic literature; ca--and; prathitah--celebrated;

purusa-uttamah--as the Supreme Personality.

 

TRANSLATION

 

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.

 

PURPORT

 

No one can surpass the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna--neither

the conditioned soul nor the liberated soul. He is therefore the

greatest of personalities. Now it is clear here that the living

entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are individuals. The

difference is that the living entities, either in the conditioned

state or in the liberated state, cannot surpass in quantity the

inconceivable potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is

incorrect to think of the Supreme Lord and the living entities as

being on the same level or equal in all respects. There is always the

question of superiority and inferiority between their personalities.

The word uttama is very significant. No one can surpass the Supreme

Personality of Godhead.

 

The word loke signifies "in the paurusa agama (the smrti scriptures)."

As confirmed in the Nirukti dictionary, lokyate vedartho 'nena: "The

purpose of the Vedas is explained by the smrti scriptures."

 

The Supreme Lord, in His localized aspect of Paramatma, is also

described in the Vedas themselves. The following verse appears in the

Vedas (Chandogya Upanisad 8.1 2.3): tavad esa samprasado 'mac charirat

samutthaya param jyoti-rupam sampadya svena rupenabhinispadyate sa

uttamah purusah. "The Supersoul coming out of the body enters the

impersonal brahmajyoti; then in His form He remains in His spiritual

identity. That Supreme is called the Supreme Personality." This means

that the Supreme Personality is exhibiting and diffusing His spiritual

effulgence, which is the ultimate illumination. That Supreme

Personality also has a localized aspect as Paramatma. By incarnating

Himself as the son of Satyavati and Parasara, He explains the Vedic

knowledge as Vyasadeva.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.