Yad aksharam veda-vido vadanti vishanti yad yatayo vita-ragah, yad icchanto brahma-caryam caranti tat te padam sangrahena pravakshye
Persons learned in the Vedas speak of the indestructible imperishable Brahman. The great sages, freed from attachment, enter into it. Those who seek this goal practice celibacy (brahmacharya). I shall now explain to you concisely this imperishable goal. Krishna prepares to describe Om and the method of attaining the imperishable Brahman, connecting Vedic wisdom to direct practice.
- •The imperishable Brahman is the supreme goal described in the Vedas
- •Brahmacharya (celibacy/spiritual discipline) supports the highest spiritual pursuit
- •Sages freed from attachment naturally merge into the Absolute
Pitaham asya jagato mata dhata pitamahah, vedyam pavitram omkar riksama yajur eva ca
I am the father, mother, sustainer and grandfather of this universe, the object of knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om, and the Rig, Sama and Yajur Vedas. The Lord reveals Himself as the cosmic parent and the very foundation of all scriptural knowledge.
- •God is the cosmic parent — father, mother, and grandfather of creation
- •The sacred syllable Om is a direct expression of the Divine
- •All Vedic wisdom ultimately points to and originates from the Lord
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