BG 15.16
क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥
kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho ’kṣara ucyate
Word-for-word meanings
imau — there are; dvau — two kinds of; puruṣau — composite beings; loke — in this world; kṣaraḥ ca — the perishable; eva ca — and indeed; akṣaraḥ — the imperishable; sarvāṇi — all [these]; bhūtāni — bodies; kṣaraḥ — [are] perishable; kūṭa-sthaḥ — [whereas] the immutable [self]; ucyate — is called; akṣaraḥ — the imperishable.
Translation
There are two kinds of puruṣas in this world, the perishable [i.e., the body*] and the imperishable [the ātmā]. All these bodies are perishable, whereas the immutable [self] is called the imperishable [ātmā].
Notes
* In the thirteenth chapter, the word puruṣa was specifically used for the self, distinct from prakṛti. But sometimes the material body is also referred to as a puruṣa, or a composite being, as in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad: “This self is made of food” (2.1.1).
