Svayam evatmanatmanam vettha tvam purushottama, bhuta-bhavana bhutesho deva-deva jagat-pate
Truly You alone know Yourself by Your own internal power, O Supreme Person, O origin of all beings, O Lord of all beings, O God of gods, O Lord of the universe. Only God can truly know God — the Lord's self-knowledge is self-contained and infinite, beyond the reach of any external inquiry.
- •The Supreme can only be truly known by Himself
- •Divine self-knowledge is the foundation of all other knowledge
- •Addressing God by His highest names is itself a form of worship
Yasmat ksaram atito 'ham aksharad api cottamah, ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitah purushottamah
Because I transcend the perishable realm and am even above the imperishable, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person — Purushottama. This verse explains the very name Purushottama: Krishna stands above both categories of existence and is therefore the utterly highest person, celebrated in scripture and in the hearts of devotees.
- •Krishna transcends both the perishable and the imperishable, making Him the Purushottama
- •The name Purushottama — the Supreme Person — is glorified in both scripture and tradition
- •True knowledge of Krishna as Purushottama is the summit of Vedic understanding