A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“The highest reality lies beyond both change and permanence.”
I am beyond the perishable and even beyond the imperishable. Therefore, I am known in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama, the Supreme Self.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallybecause · the perishable · beyond · I · than the imperishable · also · and · higher · therefore · I am · in the world · in the Veda · and · well known · Purushottama
Krishna says he is beyond both the changing world and the unchanging principle behind it. That is why he is called the Supreme Self.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Purushottama Yoga" (The Yoga of the Supreme Person).
Verse 18 sits in Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gita — Purushottama Yoga, "The Yoga of the Supreme Person". The chapter has 20 verses in total.
You finally reach the thing you thought would settle everything — the title, the relationship, the achievement — and it still feels incomplete. Krishna points beyond every stopping place.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from settling for any limited identity to recognising the highest reality beyond all categories.
What this verse means
Krishna says he is beyond both the changing world and the unchanging principle behind it. That is why he is called the Supreme Self.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is frozen, and Krishna has been leading him through the deepest levels of reality. After explaining the perishable, the imperishable, and the supreme being beyond both, Krishna now names himself as that highest reality.
Why this verse still matters
You finally reach the thing you thought would settle everything — the title, the relationship, the achievement — and it still feels incomplete. Krishna points beyond every stopping place.
“Reality is larger than both what fades and what seems permanent.”
Explore related themes: purushottama (14 verses), akshara (12 verses)