Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 38
त्वमादिदेवः पुरुषः पुराण
स्त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम्।
वेत्तासि वेद्यं च परं च धाम
त्वया ततं विश्वमनन्तरूप।।
स्त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम्।
वेत्तासि वेद्यं च परं च धाम
त्वया ततं विश्वमनन्तरूप।।
tvam ādi-devaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇas
tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
vettāsi vedyaṁ ca paraṁ ca dhāma
tvayā tataṁ viśvam ananta-rūpa
also searched as "tvam adi-devah purushah puranas"
Translation
(a) You are the Primal God and the Ancient One. You are the Supreme resting place of the universe...
(b)...You are the Knower and the object of knowledge, and the Supreme Abode. Through You, O infinite of form, is this universe pervaded.
Vāṇi's rendering
First god, most ancient person, the universe's last resting place; the knower and the known, the highest home — you fill everything.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| आदिदेवःādi-devaḥ | the first god, the one before all others |
| पुरुषःpuruṣaḥ | the person, the one who dwells within |
| पुराणःpurāṇas | ancient (purāṇaḥ, its ending softened before the next word) |
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| अस्यasya | of this |
| विश्वस्यviśvasya | of the universe |
| परम्paraṁ | supreme, final |
| निधानम्nidhānam | the place where everything is laid down and kept |
| वेत्ताvettā | the knower |
| असिasi | you are (joined to the previous word as vettāsi) |
| वेद्यम्vedyaṁ | what is to be known |
| चca | and |
| परम्paraṁ | highest |
| चca | and |
| धामdhāma | home, dwelling place |
| त्वयाtvayā | by you |
| ततम्tataṁ | spread through, filled |
| विश्वम्viśvam | the universe |
| अनन्तरूपananta-rūpa | O you whose forms have no end |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 38 mean?
Arjuna, still inside the vast vision, names Krishna as the oldest god, the ancient puruṣa, the resting place of all worlds, the highest home. Then he says something stranger: you are both the knower and the known. Nothing stands outside that. The verse ends where it must — you fill everything.
What is the meaning of tvam adi-devah purushah puranas?
The opening line reaches back before beginnings. Ādi-devaḥ: the god who was first. Purāṇa puruṣa: the person who was already ancient when time was young. Arjuna is not flattering Krishna. He is trying to find language old enough for what he is looking at, and failing beautifully.
How can Krishna be both the knower and the known?
Because knowing is not a bridge between two separate things here. Vettā and vedyaṁ are one in Krishna. That is why the verse unsettles as much as it praises — if the seer and the seen are the same, your position as observer quietly dissolves while you are still using it.
Why does Arjuna praise instead of asking questions in this verse?
He has run out of questions. The vision answered more than he wanted answered, and what remains is naming — the mind's last work when understanding has been overtaken. There is a place past inquiry where you can only say what is in front of you. Arjuna has arrived there.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has stopped asking and started naming. Terrified, he reaches for every word large enough — first god, ancient person, the place where everything is finally set down. Then a strange pair: knower and known. If Krishna is both, there is no seat left outside for Arjuna to watch from. The vision has no spectators. This is what the verse costs you. You cannot praise something that fills everything and still stand apart from it, admiring. Somewhere in your own naming of what is greater than you, the distance you were keeping quietly closes. Look again at who is doing the looking.