Yet in this body dwells the supreme Purusha — the witness, the permitter, the sustainer, the experiencer, the great Lord — who is also called the Paramatma, the Supreme Self.

Having described the individual soul as bound by attachment, Krishna now reveals the other Purusha — the supreme Purusha within the same body. The upadraṣṭā is the witness (literally "the one who sees from nearby"). The anumantā is the permitter or overseer — the one whose presence makes all experience possible. The bhartā is the sustainer; the bhoktā, the experiencer; the maheśvara, the great Lord. This is the Paramātman — the supreme Self — dwelling in the very same body that houses the individual soul. Two birds on the same tree: one eats the fruit, one only watches. The witness is always present; it is only overlooked.