Krishna.. Why do you subject us, the mere mortals to these trials? How does one decide to identify only one verse in a chapter whose every single verse is a gem on its own and merits lengthy deliberations for themselves. Purushottama Yoga is one such chapter of Srimad Bhagwad Gita where the reader is spoilt for choice for verses that can be considered as one of the best. It also needs to be highlighted that in some sampradhayas there is a practice of chanting the Purushottama yoga as part of daily anushtana. Amidst these challenging situation, I embark on this audacious attempt to identify one single verse that is representative of the chapter.
In a nutshell, this chapter celebrates the magnificence and omnipresence of the Parabrahma.
Purushottama yoga’s depiction is widely available on top of dharmic book covers i.e. inverted Ashwatta tree. While we go into the significance of these little later, let’s consider the name of the chapter i.e. Purushottama. It is not surprising that this is another name for Maha Vishnu in Vishnu Sahasranama
नारसिंहवपुः श्रीमान् केशवः पुरुषोत्तमः || VSN.3 ||
Puruṣottamaḥ: The greatest among all Purushas.
He is the greatest of the greatest beings (Purushas). He is the supreme consciousness pervading the universe entirely.
The chapter opens with one of the most philosophical and very enlightening verse from Sri Krishna. This was definitely one of my preferred verses, but decided against it due to its existing popularity.
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
ऊर्ध्वमूलमध:शाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥ 15.1॥
The Supreme Divine Personality said: They speak of an eternal aśhvatth tree with its roots above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns, and one who knows the secret of this tree is the knower of the Vedas.
One needs to understand the depiction here. There is an eternal Ashwatta tree whose roots are in the air and branches in the ground - contrary to the worldly knowledge that we are aware i.e. how a tree looks in this life. Why is this tree so peculiar? Why should we learn about the same? Sri Krishna’s answer is quite clear: One who knows the secret of this tree is the knower of vedas.
In the next verse (15.2), Sri Krishna describes the nature of the tree with Gunas nourishing the tree, buds signifying our senses and roots depicting karma. The question remains: Why should we learn or understand about the tree? Sri Krishna gives clear instructions This tree should be cut down with the axe of detachment (15.3) and when we do so and reach the base, we find the Purusha (supreme consciousness) (15.4). If we reach this destination, we will escape the loop of births and deaths.
Developing the axe of detachment is one of the key lessons of this chapter. This brings us to my preferred verse of the chapter which I feel is a guideline to shape and live our lives.
निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा
अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामा: ।
द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ता: सुखदु:खसंज्ञै
र्गच्छन्त्यमूढा: पदमव्ययं तत् ॥15.5॥
Those who are free from vanity and delusion, who have overcome the evil of attachment, who dwell constantly on the self and on God, who are free from the desire to enjoy the senses, and are beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, such liberated personalities attain My eternal Abode.
In the next few verses, Sri Krishna describes the various manifestations of his cosmic energy and how it creates and sustains the universe. He is quite clear that though we are all reflections / fragments of his divine essence, we suffer from the impact of our senses including our mind. However, when the mortal body perishes, the soul carries the mind and senses into a new body.
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वर: ।
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥ 15.8॥
As the air carries fragrance from place to place, so does the embodied soul carry the mind and senses with it, when it leaves an old body and enters a new one.
Many times in life we contemplate on the impact of Prarbdha karma. We also need to understand some part of our senses is an effect of what would transpired in our previous births. The fact that we get trapped into the impact of the sense objects and our inability to overcome or transcend and focus on the divine is clearly highlighted in verses 15.9 and 15.10
Sri Krishna goes on to provide a beautiful astronomical and scientific treatise that modern mankind is just about discovering. He is the sun that illumines the solar system, moon that radiates and brightness of the fire (15.12). Modern science tries to highlight the impact of moonlight for plant growth. However, Sri Krishna has already given the reasons 1000s of years ago. Modern science is discovering what we knew all along for eons.
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा ।
पुष्णामि चौषधी: सर्वा: सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मक: ॥ 15.13॥
Permeating the earth, I nourish all living beings with My energy. Becoming the moon, I nourish all plants with the juice of life.
Soma, a very misunderstood and often misrepresented term. Here soma represents the sap or juice of life within the plants. We need to understand the meaning of the aforementioned verse. He is nourishing the plants through the rays of the moon. This is again observed in this name in Vishnu Sahasranama.
सोमपोऽमृतपः सोमः पुरुजित् पुरुसत्तमः ।
विनयो जयः सत्यसन्धो दाशार्हः सात्वतां पतिः || VSN.54 ||
Sōmaḥ: One who as the moon invigorates the plants.
Interestingly, we can find the mention of Purushottama again as Purusatthama.
The next verse describes the process of digestion which is essentially an Agni (Pachaagni) - Digestive Fire.
अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रित: ।
प्राणापानसमायुक्त: पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥ 15.14॥
It is I who take the form of the fire of digestion in the stomachs of all living beings, and combine with the incoming and outgoing breaths, to digest and assimilate the four kinds of foods.
Sri Krishna further goes on to elaborate that he resides in the hearts of all living beings and from him memory, knowledge & forgetfulness. He is worshipped by all Vedas, author of Vedas and knower of the meaning of Vedas (15.15). We need understand that Vedas are rediscovered at advent of a new age and the one who performs the segregation or division of vedas and one who performs this process is called VYASA. In other words, Vyasa is a position and not an individual. The current Vyasa of 28th Chatur Yuga is Krishna Dwaipayana. The more interesting aspect is the upcoming Vyasa of 29th CY. Read more about Vyasa,
In the next verse, Krishna provides the overview of the perishable and imperishable realms of this universe.
द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च ।
क्षर: सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥ 15.16॥
There are two kinds of beings in creation, the kṣhar (perishable) and the akṣhar (imperishable). The perishable are all beings in the material realm. The imperishable are the liberated beings.
In the description of the SaptaLokas (7 realms), our literature divides the 7 into groups
Kshara (Perishable) i.e. Bhu, Bhuva, Suvah
Mahah is considered KsharaAkshara - where the beings perish but the realm sustains
Akshara (Imperishable) - Janah, Tapah, Satyam
In Vishnu Sahasranama also, we do have a name that describes the Akshara form of Parabrahman.
विक्षरो रोहितो मार्गो हेतुर्दामोदरः सहः || VSN.40 ||
Vikṣaraḥ: One who is without Kshara or desruction.
Sri Krishna continuously reminds us that he is the life force in all the beings. In Verse 15.17, her reminds us about the same that he enters the 3 worlds as the unchanging controller and supports all living beings. He transcends the perishable worlds and is celebrated in Vedas and Smritis (15.18). If we make an earnest effort to understand this form of his, we will rid ourselves of the continuous cycle of births and deaths and attain his holy abode.
Epilogue
No matter how many times one reads this, this chapter has something unique to offer and forces us to contemplate. This chapter, by far, is the toughest to summarise as each verse is a masterclass in itself. The above is my humble attempt.
Please do share your view on the choice of shloka and my interpretations thereof. I would like to get your thoughts and feedback and maybe we discover something hidden in Srimad Bhagwad Gita.
Sarvam Sri Krishnaarpanamastu
Verses and meanings from:
- https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/
- https://shlokam.org/shloka/vishnu-sahasranamam.htm
- https://shlokam.org/shloka/purusha-suktam.htm
Previous Chapters:
- Arjuna Vishada Yoga
- Sankhya Yoga
- Karma Yoga
- Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga
- Karma Sanyasa Yoga
- Dhyana Yoga
- Jnana Vijnana Yoga
- Akshara Brahma Yoga
- Raja Vidya Yoga
- Vibhuti Yoga
- Vishwaroopa Darshana Yoga
- Bhakti Yoga
- Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga
- Guna Traya Vibhaga Yoga
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