Bhagavad Gita 10.15
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 15 of 42 · Arjuna's Journey
स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम | भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते ||१५||
svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottama | bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate || 15 ||
You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Puruṣottama, Maker of beings, God of Gods — tell me Your vibhūtis.
Word by word (3)
- svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottama
- — You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Puruṣottama · svayam = Yourself, by Yourself (reflexive — 'by Your own nature, through Your own self-knowing'). eva = alone, only (emphatic — 'You ALONE'). ātmanā = by the Self (instrumental of ātman — 'through Your own self; by Your own nature'). ātmānam = Yourself (accusative — 'Yourself as the object of knowing'). vettha = You know (perfect tense of √vid = to know; vettha = second person singular perfect = 'You have known, You know deeply' — the perfect tense gives it the weight of established and complete knowing). tvaṃ = You. puruṣottama = O Puruṣottama (purūṣa = person, the cosmic Person + uttama = highest, supreme; puruṣottama = 'O Supreme Person' — this is one of Krishna's highest titles in the Gita; Ch.15 is named Puruṣottama Yoga and V15.18 gives the full definition: 'uttama puruṣas tv anyaḥ = the Puruṣottama is different from both the mutable and immutable'). svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha = 'You alone know Yourself by Yourself.' This is the Gita's version of the Upaniṣadic teaching that Brahman can only be known by Brahman (Bṛhadāraṇyaka: 'ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ' — the Self is to be seen; Chāndogya: 'tat tvam asi'). The complete self-knowing of the divine is the ground of V14's epistemological limit: devā na dānavāḥ cannot know because only the divine knows itself through itself.
- bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate
- — O Maker of beings, O Lord of beings, O God of Gods, O Lord of the universe · bhūta-bhāvana = O Maker/Cause of beings (bhūta = being, creature; bhāvana = one who causes to be, creator, nourisher — from √bhū = to be, with causal bhāvana = 'one who causes beings to be'; bhūta-bhāvana = 'Maker and Nourisher of all beings'). bhūteśa = O Lord of beings (bhūta + īśa = lord; bhūteśa = 'Lord of all beings' — the sovereign). deva-deva = O God of Gods (deva + deva = the god among gods; the superlative/reduplication construction meaning 'the divine of the divine, the highest divine'). jagat-pate = O Lord of the world (jagat = world, the moving universe — from √gam = to go; jagat = 'the moving one, the ever-changing universe'; pati = lord, protector — from √pā = to protect; jagat-pate = vocative 'O Lord of the world'). V15's four closing epithets: bhūta-bhāvana (Maker) + bhūteśa (Lord) + deva-deva (God of Gods) + jagat-pate (Lord of the universe). These four span all cosmic relationships: the divine as SOURCE (Maker/Bhāvana) + SOVEREIGN (Lord/Īśa) + HIGHEST (God of Gods) + UNIVERSAL (Lord of the whole universe). Together with V12's eight epithets: V12-V15 give Arjuna's complete recognition in 12 divine titles across 4 verses.
- svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha — the self-knowing divine and Arjuna's opening of the vibhūti request
- — V15's profound philosophical statement (only You know Yourself by Yourself) simultaneously grounds the epistemological limit of V14 AND opens Arjuna's request: 'since only You know Yourself, please tell me Your vibhūtis' · V15 functions as the pivot between Arjuna's recognition (V12-V15) and his request for the vibhūti catalogue (V16-V18). The structure: (1) svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha (only You know Yourself) → epistemological ground: since the divine's self-knowing is complete and exclusive, only the divine can REVEAL the vibhūtis; (2) the four epithets (bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate) → relational frame: as Maker, Lord, God of Gods, Universe-Lord, You have the complete perspective; (3) [implicit bridge to V16] → 'therefore, tell me Your divine glories — since only You can know and reveal them.' V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha is one of the Gita's most philosophically rich compressed statements: it affirms the divine's complete self-knowing (a claim that Brahman knows itself fully, unlike finite consciousness which has blind spots) while simultaneously acknowledging the radical otherness of the divine's self-knowing from all external knowing (devā na dānavāḥ — not even gods can access this self-knowing). The Upaniṣadic resonance: Bṛhadāraṇyaka 2.4.5 — 'brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati' = one who knows Brahman becomes Brahman; the only way to know the divine fully is to BE the divine knowing itself. V15 names this paradox directly.
You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Supreme Person, source of beings, Lord of beings, God of gods, ruler of the universe.
A modern analogy
Only the composer fully knows the music they composed — its sources, its intentions, its full meaning. A musicologist can analyze it brilliantly but cannot know it the way the composer does. This verse says this about the divine: only the divine fully knows its own manifestation (vibhūti, divine glory). This is why Arjuna's request — to declare the divine attributes fully and to tell again of the divine yoga and glories, for he is never sated hearing them — is necessary. He cannot deduce the vibhūtis; they must be revealed. The request is not weakness but wisdom: knowing the limits of external analysis and asking the source.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha (You alone know Yourself by Yourself) is not a statement of divine aloofness — as if the divine knows itself and keeps this knowing inaccessible to all. The entire tenth chapter — from the opening supreme word spoken out of love, through the teaching that the divine dwells in the heart and destroys ignorance with the lamp of wisdom, and onward through the whole catalogue of glories from the ātman seated in every heart to the single fragment that upholds the universe — is the divine's self-revelation in response to devotion. This verse grounds the REQUEST for revelation: 'only You know Yourself' is the reason Arjuna asks — not a wall but an opening: 'Since only You know, please tell me.'
Take with you
- This verse's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha (You alone know Yourself by Yourself) is a teaching on the inner guru: the only complete knowing of the divine comes from within (the divine knowing itself through itself). This supports the teaching that the divine, out of compassion, dwells in the heart and destroys the darkness of ignorance with the luminous lamp of wisdom: the inner teacher is the divine knowing itself, illuminating from within. External teachers transmit pointers; the inner knowing is the destination.
- This verse's five epithets (puruṣottama plus four closing names) form a meditation cascade: puruṣottama (Supreme Person) → bhūta-bhāvana (Maker of beings) → bhūteśa (Lord of beings) → deva-deva (God of Gods) → jagat-pate (Lord of the universe). From the cosmic-personal (puruṣottama) to the universal-sovereign (jagat-pate) in five steps. Hold each for a minute in morning meditation: who is the Supreme Person? Who is the Maker of all beings? Who is the Lord? The God? The Universe-Lord? Let each recognition deepen.
- This verse is the pivot to asking: after a span of devotional recognition — naming the divine as supreme abode, great purifier, eternal and unborn, declared by all the sages, and known fully only by Himself — comes the request to declare the glories and to tell of them again and again. In your own practice: after a period of devotional recognition (bhajana, devotional song; prayer; study) — ask a specific question. This verse's pattern: first recognize who you are addressing, then ask from that recognition. This makes questions more grounded than asking from confusion alone.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Verily, Thou Thyself knowest Thyself by Thyself, O Supreme Purusha, O Source of beings, O Lord of beings, O Deva of Devas, O Ruler of the World. [4]
Thou alone knowest thyself by thy Self, Supreme Spirit, Creator and Master of all that lives, God of Gods, and Lord of all the universe! [6]
Thou Thyself / Thyself alone dost know, Maker Supreme! / Master of all the living! Lord of Gods! / King of the Universe! [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Because I transcend both kṣara and akṣara, I am known in world and Veda as Puruṣottama — the Highest Puruṣa.
Declare fully Your divine attributes by which You pervade and sustain all these worlds, O Bhagavān.
Primal God, Ancient Puruṣa, supreme Refuge — Knower and Known and supreme Abode — by You is this universe pervaded!
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
I am the ātman, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the heart of all beings — their beginning, middle, and end.
But why such detail, O Arjuna? With a single fragment of Myself I establish and uphold this entire universe.
Verse 15 of 42 · back to Chapter 10