Purushottama (Sanskrit: पुरुषोत्तम, from पुरुष, purusha, "person," "personal animating principle," or "soul," and उत्तम, uttama, "highest") is an epithet of the Hindu preserver deity, Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the source of moksha, the liberator of sins, the fount of knowledge, and the highest of all beings.[1]
The epithet means the "Supreme Purusha", "Supreme Being," or "Supreme God".[2]
It has alternatively also been put forth to mean: "One who is the Supreme Purusha, beyond the kshara (destructible — i.e., Prakṛti), and akshara (indestructible — i.e., Atman)".
Purushottama is one of the names of Vishnu, and appears as the 24th name of the deity in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata. Rama as an avatara of Vishnu is called Maryada Purushottama, whereas Krishna as an avatara of Vishnu is known as Leela Purushottama.
In Bhagavad Gita verse 10.15, Arjuna fully accepts Krishna's divine nature and acknowledges Him as source of all creation, including the gods.
The text invokes this epithet in its verses:
In verse 15.18, Krishna defines purushottama as a being superior to two purushas, kshara (perishable) and akshara (imperishable):
In the Harivamsha, Brahma refers to Vishnu by this epithet before the events of the Samudra Manthana:[3]
The epithet is featured in the Vishnu Panjaram, a mantram to the deity:[4] Purushottama was explained by the philosopher Haridas Chaudhuri (1913–1975) as representing that ineffable phenomenon that lies even beyond the undifferentiated Godhead.