Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 18

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः | अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ||

yasmāt kṣaram atīto 'ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ

Because I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the Supreme Person.

Krishna declares Himself as Purushottama: 'Yasmāt kṣaram atīto 'ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ'—because I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable. Krishna transcends both: the perishable (all material beings) and the imperishable (individual souls). He's not just beyond material—He's even higher than the individual soul. 'Ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ'—therefore I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama. This is Krishna's declaration: He is Purushottama—the Supreme Person. This is the culmination of Chapter 15: after explaining the ashvattha tree, the living entity, and the two purushas, Krishna now reveals His true identity as Purushottama. Understanding this is the key: Krishna is not just a teacher, not just a guide—He is Purushottama, the Supreme Person who transcends both material and spiritual. He's the highest—the goal of all spiritual paths, the source of everything, the Supreme Person to whom everything returns.