Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15: पुरुषोत्तमयोगः
Twenty verses. The ashvattha tree of worldly existence with its roots above and branches below, cutting it with the axe of non-attachment, the supreme abode that neither sun nor moon can light, and the Purushottama beyond the perishable and the imperishable are here.
Tap any verse card to open its page with the word-by-word meaning. Pages are ready for every verse of this chapter.
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥ 1 ॥Meaning of verse 15.1 →2अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः।
अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥ 2 ॥Meaning of verse 15.2 →3न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा।
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलमसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥ 3 ॥Meaning of verse 15.3 →4ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः।
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥ 4 ॥Meaning of verse 15.4 →5निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः।
द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैर्गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ॥ 5 ॥Meaning of verse 15.5 →6न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः।
यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥ 6 ॥Meaning of verse 15.6 →7ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः।
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥ 7 ॥Meaning of verse 15.7 →8शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः।
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥ 8 ॥Meaning of verse 15.8 →9श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च।
अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥ 9 ॥Meaning of verse 15.9 →10उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम्।
विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥ 10 ॥Meaning of verse 15.10 →11यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम्।
यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः ॥ 11 ॥Meaning of verse 15.11 →12यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम्।
यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ॥ 12 ॥Meaning of verse 15.12 →13गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा।
पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ॥ 13 ॥Meaning of verse 15.13 →14अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः।
प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥ 14 ॥Meaning of verse 15.14 →15सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च।
वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् ॥ 15 ॥Meaning of verse 15.15 →16द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च।
क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥ 16 ॥Meaning of verse 15.16 →17उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः।
यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ॥ 17 ॥Meaning of verse 15.17 →18यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥ 18 ॥Meaning of verse 15.18 →19यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम्।
स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥ 19 ॥Meaning of verse 15.19 →20इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ।
एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥ 20 ॥Meaning of verse 15.20 →
ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे पुरुषोत्तमयोगो नाम पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः ॥
About Puruṣottama Yoga
This is one of the shortest chapters of the Gita, and one recited before meals in many homes. In its last verse Krishna himself calls it ‘the most secret teaching’. Shankara says the essence of the whole Gita is gathered in it.
The chapter opens with an image from the Katha Upanishad: a peepal tree with its roots above and branches below. It must be cut down, and the state from which there is no return must be sought. Then come the jiva that passes from body to body, the Lord’s glories from the light of the sun to the fire of digestion, and finally the three persons: the perishable, the imperishable and the Purushottama.
How the chapter moves
- Verses 1 to 3: The upside-down ashvattha tree of worldly existence, with the Vedas as its leaves, and cutting it with the axe of non-attachment.
- Verses 4 to 6: Refuge in the primal Person, the marks of those who reach him, and the supreme abode that sun, moon and fire cannot light.
- Verses 7 to 11: The jiva, a fragment of me, how it carries the senses, and those who see it and those who do not.
- Verses 12 to 15: The radiance of sun, moon and fire, the power that bears the earth, the fire of digestion, the one in every heart.
- Verses 16 to 20: The perishable, the imperishable, and the Purushottama beyond both, and one who knows him has done all that is to be done.
Fragment, perishable, imperishable: three views
Shankara reads ‘mamaivamshah’ (15.7) as a fragment that appears through an adjunct, like the sun seen in water, while Ramanuja reads it as a real and eternal part. The ‘perishable’ and ‘imperishable’ (15.16) are for Shankara the mass of effects and the power of maya that is their seed, for Ramanuja the bound and the released selves, and for Madhva the beings from Brahma downward and prakriti, the principle of Shri. Where the others read the ‘lord’ of 15.8 as the jiva, Madhva reads it as the Lord himself.
These pages do not decide between the readings. Wherever the acharyas part, each position is recorded in its own terms.
About these pages
The text is that of the Gita Press edition. The verses in trishtubh metre (15.2 to 15.5 and 15.15) are given in two lines, as in the earlier chapters.
In this chapter the ‘For life today’ box links the image of the tree to habits and addictions, and the Lord’s glories to food, digestion, light and memory, and recalls eye donation too. The health notes are for general understanding only, and for personal problems a doctor’s advice is what counts.
Sources: several.