स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम । भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते ॥
svayamevātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottama | bhūtabhāvana bhūteśa devadeva jagatpate ||
Translation
You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Supreme Person, O Creator of beings, O Lord of beings, O God of gods, O Master of the world.
Interpretation
Only the Self knows the Self — this is a fundamental Vedantic principle. No external vantage point exists from which the infinite can be observed; the infinite knows itself as itself. Arjuna salutes Krishna with five divine epithets: Purushottama (Supreme Person), Bhuta-bhavana (Creator of beings), Bhutesa (Lord of beings), Deva-deva (God of gods), and Jagat-pati (Master of the world). He then makes his specific request — which opens the main section of Chapter 10: please tell me of Your divine manifestations.