Bhagavad Gita 15.16
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 16 of 20
द्वाव् इमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश् चाक्षर एव च । क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थो ऽक्षर उच्यते ॥
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca | kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate ||
Two puruṣas: kṣara (all mutable beings) and akṣara (kūṭastha, immutable ground) — both about to be transcended.
Word by word (3)
- dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca
- — two (dvau) puruṣas here (imau) in the world (loke): the kṣara (perishable/mutable) and the akṣara (imperishable/immutable)
- kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni
- — the kṣara is all beings (sarvāṇi bhūtāni) — all manifest, embodied, changing existence is the 'perishable' realm
- kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate
- — the kūṭastha (that which stands on top, unchanged, like an anvil — kūṭa = peak/anvil) is called akṣara (the imperishable) — the unmanifest ground of existence
There are two puruṣas in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings make up the perishable. The kūṭastha — the unchanging — is called the imperishable.
A modern analogy
In a river, the flowing water is kṣara (ever-changing), and the riverbed is akṣara (remains while the water moves). But there is something even beyond both — the source-spring that gives rise to the river AND the bed: that is the Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person who stands beyond both the changing and the unchanging, introduced in the next verse as the inexhaustible Lord sustaining all three worlds.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING — SH Ch.15 V16 not indexed; Telang and Ganguli used as primary. [1]
There are two Purushas in the world: the Perishable and the Imperishable — all beings are the Perishable, and the Kutastha is called Imperishable. [4]
There are these two beings in the world, the destructible and the indestructible. The destructible includes all things. The unconcerned one is what is called the indestructible. [9]
There are two beings in this (world): the destructible and the indestructible. All things (here) are the destructible; the Kuta (the unconsolidated) is called the indestructible. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
All beings arise from these two natures as their womb — and I am the origin and dissolution of the entire universe.
Action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. The all-pervading ultimate is present in every act of yajna.
Even the wise are confused about action vs. inaction. I will explain — knowing this frees you from all wrong.
Sattva-abiders go upward; rajasic dwell in the middle; tamas-abiders sink downward — the cosmic gradient.
Therefore śāstra is your pramāṇa for kārya-akārya. Know what śāstra declares — then act accordingly in the world.
Verse 16 of 20 · back to Chapter 15