Chapter 15

Purushottama Yoga

पुरुषोत्तमयोग

Puruṣhottam Yog•“The Yoga of the Supreme Divine Personality”•20 Verses

A Reading - Rantideb

Chapter 14 mapped the three qualities that keep pulling a person in different directions. Chapter 15 opens with the striking image of an inverted tree, roots above, branches below, representing the world as most people experience it, with its priorities upside down, chasing what looks solid, possessions, status, comfort, that's actually the most temporary part of life, while treating what's genuinely lasting as an afterthought. Why this matters: it's a diagnostic image more than a literal claim, describing the common experience of having your priorities backward without quite noticing it, until something forces a reordering. In life, this is the chapter for anyone who has had the experience of a crisis suddenly clarifying what actually mattered all along, revealing that a lot of previous effort had been aimed at branches, not roots. The teaching is to deliberately cut through that inverted tree's dense growth, the tangle of competing desires and attachments, with the sharp axe of detachment, not to stop living fully, but to stop mistaking the temporary branches for the actual roots of a meaningful life.

Chapter Summary

The fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Purushottama Yoga". In Sanskrit, Purusha means the "All-pervading God", and Purushottam means the timeless & transcendental aspect of God. Krishna reveals that the purpose of this Transcendental knowledge of the God is to detach ourselves from the bondage of the material world and to understand Krishna as the Supreme Divine Personality, who is the eternal controller and sustainer of the world. One who understands this Ultimate Truth surrenders to Him and engages in His devotional service.

Verses in this Chapter (20)

Verse 1

श्री भगवानुवाचऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्।छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित्।।15.1।।

The Lord said, "They speak of an immutable Asvattha tree with its roots above and branches below; its leaves are the Vedas. He who knows it knows the Vedas."

Verse 2

अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः।अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके।।15.2।।

(a) Its branches extend both above and below, nourished by the Gunas. Their shoots are sense objects. (b) And their secondary roots extend downwards, resulting in actions that bind in the world of humans.

Verse 3

न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च संप्रतिष्ठा।अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूल मसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा।।15.3।।

Its form is not perceived here, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its support. Having cut off this firmly-rooted Asvattha with the strong axe of detachment.

Verse 4

ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्य यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः।तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी।।15.4।।

Then, one should seek that goal, attaining which one never returns. One should seek refuge with that Primal Person from whom this ancient activity streamed forth.

Verse 5

निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः।द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञै र्गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत्।।15.5।।

Without the delusion of perverse notions concerning the self, victorious over the evil of attachment, ever devoted to the Self, turned away from desires and liberated from dualities such as pleasure and pain, the undeluded go to that imperishable state.

Verse 6

न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः।यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम।।15.6।।

That supreme light, upon reaching which they do not return any more, is Mine; neither the sun nor the moon nor the fire illuminates It.

Verse 7

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः।मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति।।15.7।।

An everlasting part of Myself, having become the bound self in the world of life, attracts the senses, of which the mind is the sixth, and which abide in Prakriti.

Verse 8

शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः।गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात्।।15.8।।

Whatever body its lord acquires and from whatever body it departs, it goes on its way, taking these senses as the wind carries scents from their places.

Verse 9

श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च।अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते।।15.9।।

Presiding over the ear, the eye, the sense of touch, the tongue, the nose, and the mind, It experiences these objects of the senses.

Verse 10

उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम्।विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः।।15.10।।

The deluded do not perceive it conjoined with the Gunas when departing, staying, or experiencing. Those who have the eye of knowledge, however, see it.

Verse 11

यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम्।यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः।।15.11।।

The striving yogis perceive it established in themselves. But, though striving, those of unrefined minds, devoid of intelligence, do not perceive it.

Verse 12

यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम्।यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम्।।15.12।।

Know that the brilliance which illumines the whole universe in the sun, the moon, and fire is Mine.

Verse 13

गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा।पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः।।15.13।।

And, entering the earth, I uphold all beings with My strength. I nourish all herbs, becoming the juicy Soma.

Verse 14

अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः।प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम्।।15.14।।

Becoming the digestive fire, I function within the bodies of all living beings. In union with the inward and outward breath, I digest the four kinds of food.

Verse 15

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च।वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम्।।15.15।।

And I am seated in the hearts of all. From Me come memory, knowledge, and their removal too. Indeed, I alone am to be known from all the Vedas. I bring about the fruition of the Vedic rituals; I alone am the knower of the Vedas.

Verse 16

द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च।क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते।।15.16।।

There are two kinds of persons spoken of in the sastra: the perishable (ksara) and the imperishable (aksara). All beings are perishable, while the imperishable is called the unchanging (kutastha).

Verse 17

उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः।यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः।।15.17।।

There is a Supreme Person other than these. He is referred to as the Supreme Self (Paramatma) in all the Vedas. He, as the Immutable One and the Lord, enters the threefold world and supports it.

Verse 18

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः।अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः।।15.18।।

Because I transcend the perishable person and am also higher than the imperishable one, therefore I am referred to in the Smrti and the Veda as the Supreme Person (Purusotama).

Verse 19

यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम्।स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत।।15.19।।

He who, without delusion, thus knows Me as the Supreme Self, knows all, O Arjuna, and worships Me in every way.

Verse 20

इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयाऽनघ।एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत।।15.20।।

Thus, O sinless one, this most mysterious doctrine has been imparted by Me. By understanding this, one will become truly wise and fulfill their duty.

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