द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च ।क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca |kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭastho 'kṣara ucyate ||
- द्वौ · dvau
- two
- इमौ · imau
- these
- पुरुषौ · puruṣau
- persons, selves
- लोके · loke
- in the world
- क्षरः · kṣaraḥ
- the perishing
- अक्षरः · akṣaraḥ
- the imperishable
- सर्वाणि · sarvāṇi
- all
- भूतानि · bhūtāni
- beings
- कूटस्थः · kūṭasthaḥ
- the changeless, standing firm
“There are two persons in this world — the perishing and the imperishable. The perishing is all beings; the changeless foundation is called the imperishable.”
— Original plain-language translation
Now the chapter's doctrine proper: the two selves — the many changing beings and the one changeless ground. This maps onto earlier teachings of field and knower (Chapter 13). But a third, greater truth still waits in the next verse.
— Reader's notes (original)