Chapter 15: Purushottama Yoga
The Supreme Person
The chapter opens with the striking image of an ashvattha tree with roots above and branches below, its form not perceivable here — the world-tree of samsara, which must be cut with the axe of detachment. Krishna then describes the Supreme Person, Purushottama, beyond both the perishable and the imperishable. He is the fire of digestion in every body, the light in the sun and moon, and the one seated in the heart from whom memory and knowledge come.
All 20 verses of Chapter 15
Verse 15.1
श्रीभगवानुवाच । ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit
The Supreme Lord said: They speak of an eternal fig tree with roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the Vedic hymns; one who knows this tree knows the Vedas.
Life lesson: Try looking at one ordinary situation today from a completely different angle — it might reveal something you were missing.
Read verse 15.1 in full →Verse 15.2
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः । अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥
adhaś cordhvaṁ prasṛtās tasya śākhā guṇa-pravṛddhā viṣaya-pravālāḥ adhaś ca mūlāny anusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣya-loke
Its branches extend both downward and upward, nourished by the gunas, with sense objects as their shoots; and its roots stretch downward too, bound by actions in the human world.
Life lesson: Notice one habit today that keeps quietly branching in your life, and decide if it's one worth pruning.
Read verse 15.2 in full →Verse 15.3
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा । अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलमसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥
na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādir na ca sampratiṣṭhā aśvattham enaṁ suvirūḍha-mūlam asaṅga-śastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā
Its true form is not perceived here, nor its end, beginning, or foundation. This deep-rooted fig tree should be cut down with the strong axe of detachment.
Life lesson: If an old habit feels too deeply rooted to change today, remember that steady detachment is a strong enough tool to cut through it.
Read verse 15.3 in full →Verse 15.4
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः । तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ tam eva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī
One must then seek that goal, having reached which one never returns; I take refuge in that very primal being, from whom this ancient activity has streamed forth.
Life lesson: When life today feels like a tangle of branches pulling in every direction, remember there's a single refuge worth seeking beneath it all.
Read verse 15.4 in full →Verse 15.5
निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः । द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैर्गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ॥
nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat
Free from pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, ever dwelling in the self, desires having ceased, freed from the dualities known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that eternal abode.
Life lesson: Practice today letting go of just a little pride or clinging — that alone moves you toward real freedom.
Read verse 15.5 in full →Verse 15.6
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः । यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
Neither the sun nor the moon nor fire illumines that Supreme Abode of Mine, having gone to which one does not return.
Life lesson: When outer circumstances feel dim today, trust the inner light within you that no external condition can switch off.
Read verse 15.6 in full →Verse 15.7
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः
mamaivānśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
The living beings in this world are My eternal fragments. Bound in material nature, they struggle with the mind and five senses.
Life lesson: On days you feel small or unworthy, remember: something eternal and divine already lives within you.
Read verse 15.7 in full →Verse 15.8
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः । गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥
śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt
As the wind carries fragrance away from its source, so the soul, when it takes on a body or departs from one, carries the mind and senses along with it.
Life lesson: When you're facing an ending today, trust that what's essential in you isn't lost — it simply moves forward.
Read verse 15.8 in full →Verse 15.9
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च । अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥
śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ viṣayān upasevate
Presiding over the ear, eye, touch, taste, and smell, along with the mind, this soul enjoys the objects of the senses.
Life lesson: Amid today's sights and sounds, take one quiet moment to notice the awareness that's doing the sensing.
Read verse 15.9 in full →Verse 15.10
उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् । विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥
utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ
The deluded do not perceive the soul as it departs, remains, or experiences the gunas; but those with the eye of knowledge do perceive it.
Life lesson: Spiritual insight isn't a gift some have and others don't — it's a way of attending that you can practice today.
Read verse 15.10 in full →Verse 15.11
यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम् । यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः ॥
yatanto yoginaś cainaṁ paśyanty ātmany avasthitam yatanto 'py akṛtātmāno nainaṁ paśyanty acetasaḥ
Striving yogis perceive this soul dwelling within themselves, but the unrefined and thoughtless, even striving, do not perceive it.
Life lesson: Today, favor a small, mindful, consistent effort over one burst of intense but scattered striving.
Read verse 15.11 in full →Verse 15.12
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् । यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ॥
yad āditya-gataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate 'khilam yac candramasi yac cāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam
Know that the radiance of the sun that illumines the whole world, the light in the moon, and the brightness in fire — all belong to Me.
Life lesson: Notice today whatever helps you see clearly — a person's advice, a quiet insight — and trace it back to the same one source of light.
Read verse 15.12 in full →Verse 15.13
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा । पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ॥
gām āviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmy aham ojasā puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ
Entering the earth, I sustain all beings by My energy; and becoming the sap-giving moon, I nourish all plants.
Life lesson: Notice today the quiet, sustaining presence beneath even the most ordinary things — the ground you walk on, the food you eat.
Read verse 15.13 in full →Verse 15.14
अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः । प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥
ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśritaḥ prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ catur-vidham
Becoming the fire of digestion in the bodies of living beings, and united with the incoming and outgoing breath, I digest the four kinds of food.
Life lesson: Take a moment today to appreciate your own body's quiet, constant work — even something as simple as digestion is sacred.
Read verse 15.14 in full →Verse 15.15
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च । वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् ॥
sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me come memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness. I alone am to be known through all the Vedas; I am the author of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
Life lesson: Be gentle with your own lapses or forgetfulness today — even those moments are held within something sacred.
Read verse 15.15 in full →Verse 15.16
द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च । क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate
There are two kinds of beings in this world, the perishable and the imperishable; the perishable is all beings, and the imperishable is called the unchanging.
Life lesson: When change unsettles you today, remember to find the part of you that stays steady beneath it — that's what you can lean on.
Read verse 15.16 in full →Verse 15.17
उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः । यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ॥
uttamaḥ puruṣas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ yo loka-trayam āviśya bibharty avyaya īśvaraḥ
But distinct from these is the Supreme Person, called the Paramatma, who, entering the three worlds as the imperishable Lord, sustains them.
Life lesson: Stay a little humble today about your own certainty — reality often holds more than our usual categories capture.
Read verse 15.17 in full →Verse 15.18
यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः । अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥
yasmāt kṣaram atīto 'ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ
Since I am beyond the perishable, and even higher than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the Supreme Person.
Life lesson: Stay curious today rather than certain — there's always more depth to the divine than any single idea can capture.
Read verse 15.18 in full →Verse 15.19
यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् । स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥
yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ sarva-bhāvena bhārata
One who, undeluded, knows Me thus as the Supreme Person, knows everything and worships Me with their whole being, O Bharata.
Life lesson: Let today's understanding of something deeper naturally soften into devotion — knowing and loving aren't really separate.
Read verse 15.19 in full →Verse 15.20
इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ । एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥
iti guhyatamaṁ śāstram idam uktaṁ mayānagha etad buddhvā buddhimān syāt kṛta-kṛtyaś ca bhārata
Thus, O sinless one, this most secret teaching has been spoken by Me. Understanding this, one becomes wise and fulfilled, O Bharata.
Life lesson: Let today's small piece of understanding actually settle in, rather than rushing on to the next thing to learn.
Read verse 15.20 in full →