Devanagari
त्वमक्षरं परमं वेदितव्यं
त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम् ।
त्वमव्यय: शाश्वतधर्मगोप्ता
सनातनस्त्वं पुरुषो मतो मे ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ
tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
tvam avyayaḥ śāśvata-dharma-goptā
sanātanas tvaṁ puruṣo mato me
Synonyms
tvam
—
You
;
akṣaram
—
the infallible
;
paramam
—
supreme
;
veditavyam
—
to be understood
;
tvam
—
You
;
asya
—
of this
;
viśvasya
—
universe
;
param
—
supreme
;
nidhānam
—
basis
;
tvam
—
You
;
avyayaḥ
—
inexhaustible
;
śāśvata-dharma-goptā
—
maintainer of the eternal religion
;
sanātanaḥ
—
eternal
;
tvam
—
You
;
puruṣaḥ
—
the Supreme Personality
;
mataḥ me
—
this is my opinion.
Translation
You are the supreme primal objective. You are the ultimate resting place of all this universe. You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest. You are the maintainer of the eternal religion, the Personality of Godhead. This is my opinion.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
18. You are known as the supreme Brahman. You are the place of destruction of this universe. You are indestructible, the protector of eternal dharma. I know that You are the eternal person.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
18. You are known as the supreme brahman. You are the shelter of everything. You are indestructible, the protector of eternal dharma. I know that You are the ancient person.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
You are known by the strivers for liberation as Brahman (akṣaram). You are the place of destruction of all things (nidhānam).
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Seeing this inconceivable great power, I am convinced about You. That is the purport of this verse.
You are to be known (veditavyam). This is described by statements of the Vedas such as atha parā yayā tad akṣaram adhigamyate, yat tad adṛśyam: the higher knowledge is that by which the indestructible Brahman is apprehended, which cannot be seen. (Muṇḍaka Upanisad 1.1.5) Described in the Vedas, You are known as the truth with all opulences (paramam akṣaram). You are the shelter (nidhānam). You are the indestructible (avyayaḥ). You are the protector of dharma spoken in the Vedas (śāśvata dharma goptā). You alone are the ancient person (sanātanaḥ puruṣaḥ), mentioned in the mantra sa kāraṇaṁ kāraṇādhipādhipo na cāsya kaścij janitā na cādhipaḥ: He is the cause, master of the senses; He has no lord or creator. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.9)