त्वमादिदेवः पुरुषः पुराण
स्त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम्
वेत्तासि वेद्यं च परं च धाम
त्वया ततं विश्वमनन्तरूप
tvamādidevaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇa
stvamasya viśvasya paraṃ nidhānam
vettāsi vedyaṃ ca paraṃ ca dhāma
tvayā tataṃ viśvamanantarūpa
TRANSLATION
You are the Primal God and the Ancient Person. You are the Supreme resting place of the universe. You are the knower and that which must be known, and the Supreme abode. By You, O infinite of form, is this universe pervaded.
PURPORT
You alone are all the knowers and all that must be known. You alone, abiding thus as the Self of all, are the ‘Dhaman’ (abode), namely, the goal to be attained. By You, O infinite of form, is the universe pervaded. By You the universe, composed of conscient beings and non-conscient matter, is ‘Tatam’, pervaded. You are the Primal God, the Ancient Person. You are the supreme resting place of the universe. The meaning is that You are the supreme foundation of the universe which constitutes Your body, as You are its Self. [It is to be noted how Ramanuja derives here the meaning of ‘individual self’ for the word Akshara, which helps him to explain ‘Kutasth’ oksharaucchyate’ in 15.16]
Arjuna says:‘Therefore You alone are expressed by the terms Vayu etc.’