"
Purushottama" ( from पुरुष,
purusha "spirit" or "male" and उत्तम,
uttama, "highest") means "Supreme Purusha", "
Supreme Being", "Supreme God", "One who is the Supreme Purusha beyond the Kshara (Destroyable i.e.
Prakṛti) and Akshara (Undestroyable i.e.
Atman)". Purushottama is also one of the names of Lord
Vishnu and appears as 24th name of Lord
Vishnu in
Vishnu Sahasranama of
Mahabharata. According to the
Bhagavad Gita,
Purushottam is explained as above and beyond
kshar and
akshar purushas or as an omnipotent cosmic being. The Purushottama was explained by the Integral philosopher
Haridas Chaudhuri (1913–1975) as representing that ineffable phenomenon which lies even beyond the undifferentiated Godhead. Lord
Rama as an avatara of Lord
Vishnu is called Maryada Purushottama where as Lord
Krishna as an avatara of Lord
Vishnu is known as Leela or Purn Purushottama.