Chapter XV · Śloka 18
यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहम्
अक्षरादपि चोत्तमः ।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च
प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥
अक्षरादपि चोत्तमः ।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च
प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥
yasmāt kṣaram atīto'ham
akṣarād api cottamaḥ |
ato'smi loke vede ca
prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
akṣarād api cottamaḥ |
ato'smi loke vede ca
prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
Because I transcend the perishable and am higher even than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the Puruṣottama — the Supreme Person.
Kṛṣṇa declares the identity He has been revealing throughout the chapter: He surpasses the perishable realm of saṃsāra and even the imperishable unmanifest, and is therefore rightly known by the supreme title Puruṣottama. This is the pinnacle of the chapter's teaching.