Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 17 भगवद् गीता अध्याय 15 श्लोक 17 उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः। यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः।।15.17।। English Translation - Swami Gambirananda 15.17 But different is th supreme Person who is spoken of as the transcendental Self, who, permeating the three worlds, upholds (them), and is the imperisahble God. English Translation - Swami Sivananda 15.17 But distinct is the Supreme Purusha called the highest Self, the indestructible Lord Who, pervading the three worlds, sustains them. English Translation - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan 15.17. But the Highest Person, distinct [from both this] is spoken of as the Supreme Self, which, being the changeless Lord, sustains the triad of the world by entering into it. English Commentary - Swami Sivananda 15.17 उत्तमः the Supreme? पुरुषः Purusha? तु but? अन्यः another? परमात्मा the highest? Self? इति thus? उदाहृतः called? यः who? लोकत्रयम् the three worlds? आविश्य pervading? बिभर्ति sustains? अव्ययः the indestructible? ईश्वरः Lord.Commentary Purushottama is beyond the universe though He pervades the three worlds. Therefore He is called the Supreme Being by the Vedas and men of this world. He pervades the three worlds and upholds them yet? He is not tainted by the world. He is above the world or worldliness.Just as the waking state is different from the dram or the deep sleep states? just as the orb of the sun is different from his rays or the mirage they casue? so also is the highest Purusha different from the perishable and the imperishable Purushas.The highest Purusha is the haven of peace. In Him all take their refuge and eternal rest. He is incomparable for He is selfcontained there is nothing like Him. He can only be compared to Himself. The imperishable Being (Akshara Brahman) Who is beyond the world and the Avyaktam (the Unmanifested) are essentially the same as the Purushottama Who transcends both the Kshara and the Akshara.The Purushottama is ite distinct from the two -- Kshara and Akshara. He is the Supreme Being. The physical body? the astral body and the causal body are also termed the Self. But these are secondary selves. Paramatma or the Supreme Self is the primary Self. Purushottama or Paramatma is the supreme or the highest when compared with the other secondary selves created by ignorance. He is the innermost consciousness of all beings. He is the support of everything. He is the Niyanta? the Inner Ruler. He is independent. Therefore He is known as the Supreme Self in the Vedanta.Anyah Another? ite distinct from the two.Lokatrayam The three worlds Bhuh (the earth)? Bhuvah (the midregion) and Svah (heaven) are the three worlds.Purushottama is further described as follows He is the imperishable and omniscient Lord Narayana Who permeates the three worlds by His vital energy and sustains them by His mere existence in them.Avyaya Imperishable? that which is free from the modifications such as birth? death? etc. Just as the king who rules his subjects and controls them is distinct from them? so also the Supreme Being Who is the ruler of the perishable and the imperishable is distinct from them. (Cf.VIII.20) English Translation of Sanskrit Commentary By Sri Shankaracharya's 15.17 Tu, but; anyah, different, entirely contrary in characteristics from these; is the uttamah, supreme, most excellent; purusah, Person, who is different in characteristics from these-the mutable and the immutable-, untouched by the mutable and the immutable limiting adjuncts, and is by nature eternal, pure, conscious and free; udahrtah, spoken of in the Upanisads; iti, as; the paramatma, supreme Self; He is paramah, supreme, as compared with the selves like body etc. created by ignorance, and is the atma, Self, the inmost Consciousness of all beings. Hence He is the supreme Self. He Himself is being specially described: yah, who, by dint of His own active power inhering in the energy that is Maya; [Caitanya, consciousness, itself is the bala (energy); the sakti (active power) therein is Maya. Through that He upholds.] avisya, permeating; loka-trayam, the three worlds-called Bhuh (Earth), Bhuvah, (Intermediate Space) and Svah (Heaven); bibharti, upholds (them) by merely being present in His own nature. (And He) is the avyayah, imperishable; isvarah, God, the Omniscient One called Narayana, who is the Lord by nature. This name-the supreme Person-of God as described is well known. Showing that the name is apt by virtue of its etymological significance, the Lord reveals Himself saying, I am the unsurpassable God: English Translation of Commentary - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan 15.17 See Comment under 15.18 English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary 15.17 But there is the Supreme Person who is other than the bound and liberated selves expressed by the terms, the perishable and the imperishable. He forms a completely different category. All Srutis call Him the Supreme Self. But by that very designation as the Supreme Self, it may be known that the Supreme Person is a category distinct from the bound and the liberated selves. How? Entering the threefold world, supports it. Loka (world) is that which is perceived. There are three such perceivable worlds, He enters the three worlds which can be understood from the authority of the Srutis. These are the world of unconscient matter, the world of conscient selves conjoined with matter, and the world of liberated selves. As understandable from the Srutis, He enters into these three categories as their Atman and supports them. Thus, He is an entity different from the triad which He pervades and maintains. Further He is different, as He is imperishable and as He is the Lord. Being imperishable, He is different from the bound non-conscient matter whose nature is subject to decay. He is different from the bound conscient selves as the latter is subject to Prakrti and follows its laws. He is also distinguished from the liberated selves, because in their previous condition they were connected with matter and mixed with it. Similarly, He is the Lord of these three worlds, a category distinct from those which have to be ruled. Commentary - Chakravarthi Ji Having just spoken about the impersonal brahman, which the jnanis worship, the Lord now speaks about the paramatma which the yogis worship. The word tu indicates a distinction from what was previously spoken. As the yogi is a different worshipper than the jnani, the object worshipped will also be different. The Lord shows the nature of paramatma. Paramatma is he who, though having the nature of commanding (isvara) and being unchanging (avyayah), enters into the three worlds completely and supports and protects it (bibharti). Rudra Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Here Lord Krishna shows the reason why the two types of beings persihable and impesihable were described in the previous verse for transcendental to both is the Supreme Lord, Himself. In the Vedic scriptures He is described as Parama the supreme and as Atma the eternal soul. Combined they become Paramatma the Supreme Soul which is different from the temporary impersihable as well as distinct from the immortal individual atma which is infintesimal, eternal consciousness. The Supreme Lord Krishna expands as the three Purusa Avataras of Vishnu who are Karanadaksayi Vishnu laying upon the unlimited casual ocean in yoga nidra or internal meditation, creating trillions upon trillions of universes which emmante unlimitedly from His pores during one exhalation.. They are ruled by His expansion of Garbodayaksayi Vishnu who served by Laksmi-devi, rules each universe and expands as all the avataras or incarnations throughout creation who manifest in various universes according to time, circumstances and schedule. From Garbodayaksayi Vishnu is expanded Ksisrodaksayi Vishnu who enters into the etheric heart of every jiva or embodied being in all of existence as Paramatma; maintaining and sustaining each and every jiva throughout all creation as one undivided reality. Brahma Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Shri Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Now Lord Krishna expounds upon the supreme soul which is transcendent to both ksarah or fallible and the aksarah or infallible respectively as the conditioned and the liberated. This supreme soul is designated as paramatma in all the Vedic scriptures. The very epithet of parama meaning exaltedly supreme reveals that paramatma is distinctly unique and different from even the atma or immortal soul. All the atmas collectively in all of creation comprise the spiritual form of paramatma which penetrates all creation sustaining and maintaining it. The word loka means world and because it is written as lokyate it refers to the three classifications of worlds. One of them is achetana the inanimate worlds. Two is buddha- chetana or the animate worlds mixed with the inanimate worlds. Three is the unlimited and eternally liberated spiritual worlds. It is these three categories of worlds and all the jivas or embodied beings upon them that the Supreme Lord Krishna pervades and permeates, maintains and sustains by the fact that all the worlds are originally generated by Him. As the soveriegn creator of all creation this makes Him distinctly different from everything else yet at the same time a part of it. Because He alone is infinite it can be comprehended that only He can be distinctly different from the finite consisting of the inanimate, the animate, the jivas in bondage and those who have achieved liberation. Kumara Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Now Lord Krishna expounds upon the supreme soul which is transcendent to both ksarah or fallible and the aksarah or infallible respectively as the conditioned and the liberated. This supreme soul is designated as paramatma in all the Vedic scriptures. The very epithet of parama meaning exaltedly supreme reveals that paramatma is distinctly unique and different from even the atma or immortal soul. All the atmas collectively in all of creation comprise the spiritual form of paramatma which penetrates all creation sustaining and maintaining it. The word loka means world and because it is written as lokyate it refers to the three classifications of worlds. One of them is achetana the inanimate worlds. Two is buddha- chetana or the animate worlds mixed with the inanimate worlds. Three is the unlimited and eternally liberated spiritual worlds. It is these three categories of worlds and all the jivas or embodied beings upon them that the Supreme Lord Krishna pervades and permeates, maintains and sustains by the fact that all the worlds are originally generated by Him. As the soveriegn creator of all creation this makes Him distinctly different from everything else yet at the same time a part of it. Because He alone is infinite it can be comprehended that only He can be distinctly different from the finite consisting of the inanimate, the animate, the jivas in bondage and those who have achieved liberation. Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 15.17Uttamah purushastwanyah paramaatmetyudaahritah; Yo lokatrayamaavishya bibhartyavyaya ishwarah. Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 15.17uttamaḥ—the Supreme; puruṣhaḥ—Divine Personality; tu—but; anyaḥ—besides; parama-ātmā—the Supreme Soul; iti—thus; udāhṛitaḥ—is said; yaḥ—who; loka trayam—the three worlds; āviśhya—enters; bibharti—supports; avyayaḥ—indestructible; īśhvaraḥ—the controller