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← Chapter 11: The Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form

Verse 11.38

Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit

त्वमादिदेवः पुरुषः पुराणस्त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम् | वेत्तासि वेद्यं च परं च धाम त्वया ततं विश्वमनन्तरूप ||३८||

Transliteration (IAST)

tvam ādi-devaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇas tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam | vettāsi vedyaṁ ca paraṁ ca dhāma tvayā tataṁ viśvam ananta-rūpa ||38||

Word-by-Word Meanings

ādi-devaḥ-the primal God
puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ-the ancient Person
param nidhānam-supreme resting place
vettā asi-You are the knower
vedyam-that which is to be known
param dhāma-supreme abode
tvayā tatam-pervaded by You
ananta-rūpa-O infinite form

Translation

You are the primal God, the ancient Person. You are the supreme resting place of this universe. You are the knower, the knowable, and the supreme abode. The universe is pervaded by You, O one of infinite form.

Commentary

Arjuna identifies Krishna with the Puruṣa of Vedic cosmology - the primordial being from whom all creation emerges. Madhva notes that 'vettā' (knower) and 'vedyam' (knowable) indicate that Krishna is both the subject and object of all knowledge, the ultimate epistemological ground.

Themes

jnanabhakti