Shloka 20
Purushottama Yoga — Purushottama Yoga
इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ । एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥ १५.२० ॥
iti guhyatamaṃ śāstram idam uktaṃ mayānagha | etad buddhvā buddhimān syāt kṛtakṛtyaś ca bhārata || 15.20 ||
Thus this most secret teaching has been spoken by Me, O sinless one. Knowing this, one becomes truly wise and fulfilled in purpose, O Bhārata.
“हे निष्पाप! इस प्रकार यह अत्यन्त गोपनीय शास्त्र मैंने कहा। इसे जानकर मनुष्य बुद्धिमान हो जाता है और हे भारत! वह कृतकृत्य (कृतार्थ) हो जाता है।”
“O sinless one, thus this most secret teaching has been stated by me. Having understood this, one becomes wise; and, O Bhārata, one becomes one who has accomplished what is to be accomplished.”
The verse is stable across common recensions; differences are mainly stylistic in translation. ‘guhyatamam śāstram’ may be rendered as “most secret doctrine/treatise,” and ‘kṛtakṛtya’ as “fulfilled,” “having done what must be done,” or “one whose purpose is achieved,” depending on whether emphasis is placed on ethical completion, soteriological completion (liberation-oriented), or cognitive completion (perfect understanding).
FAQs
The verse frames understanding as a decisive cognitive shift: grasping a core teaching produces “buddhimān” (a stabilized, discerning intelligence). Psychologically, it suggests that clarity about one’s deepest values and the nature of self/world reduces inner conflict and yields a sense of completion (kṛtakṛtya).
Within Chapter 15’s framework, the ‘most secret teaching’ points to knowledge of Puruṣottama as distinct from perishable and imperishable principles. To ‘understand this’ is to align one’s identity and aim with the highest reality, which is portrayed as conferring fulfilled status—nothing further is required for the ultimate end.
This is the closing verse of Chapter 15 (Puruṣottamayoga). It functions as a colophon-like conclusion: Krishna summarizes that he has delivered the chapter’s central, privileged doctrine and states its promised result—wisdom and existential fulfillment.
As a non-sectarian takeaway, the verse can be read as emphasizing that deep comprehension of a guiding framework—ethical, philosophical, or spiritual—can bring coherence to decision-making and a sense of ‘having done what needed to be done,’ expressed through steady judgment and reduced purposelessness.