📿 Shloka Collection

Tvam Aksharam Paramam Veditavyam

Gita 11.18 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 11 — Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga
त्वमक्षरं परमं वेदितव्यं त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम् ।
त्वमव्ययः शाश्वतधर्मगोप्ता सनातनस्त्वं पुरुषो मतो मे ॥
Tvam aksharam paramam veditavyam tvam asya vishvasya param nidhanam
Tvam avyayah shashvata-dharma-gopta sanatanas tvam Purusho mato me
त्वम् अक्षरं परमम्
you are the supreme imperishable
विश्वस्य परं निधानम्
the ultimate refuge of the universe
शाश्वतधर्मगोप्ता
the guardian of eternal dharma
सनातनः पुरुषः
the eternal Purusha

Arjuna stops describing what he sees and speaks directly about what he now knows. "You are the supreme imperishable — the one thing truly worth knowing. You are the ultimate refuge of this universe. You are the undying guardian of eternal dharma. You are the Sanatan Purusha. This is my understanding."

Four declarations in four lines, each one a pillar. Imperishable — nothing can destroy you. Ultimate refuge — when everything else dissolves, you remain. Guardian of dharma — the cosmic order rests under your protection. Eternal Purusha — you are the being who exists before time and after it. Arjuna is not reciting theology. He is reporting direct experience.

The closing phrase — 'mato me,' my understanding — carries humility even within certainty. Arjuna does not say 'this is the final truth.' He says 'this is what I have understood.' A seeker who has seen infinity and still speaks with the modesty of a student.

This shloka marks a shift in Arjuna's stuti from visual description to philosophical recognition. Having catalogued what the form looks like, he now names what it means. The four titles he assigns — Akshara, Nidhanam, Dharmagopta, Sanatan Purusha — span the full range of Vedantic theology.

The phrase 'shashvata-dharma-gopta' (guardian of eternal dharma) connects to Krishna's own promise in Chapter 4 (4.8): 'For the protection of the good and the destruction of the wicked, I manifest age after age.'

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