11.37 Why should they not bow? Arjuna speaks

कस्माच्च ते न नमेरन्महात्मन् गरीयसे ब्रह्मणोऽप्यादिकर्त्रे
अनन्त देवेश जगन्निवास त्वमक्षरं सदसत्तत्परं यत्

kasmāch cha te na nameran mahātman
garīyase brahmaṇo ’py ādi-kartre
ananta deveśha jagan-nivāsa
tvam akṣharaṁ sad-asat tat paraṁ yat

And why should they not bow to you, great one, greater than Brahma, the first maker? Endless lord, god of gods, refuge of the world — you are the imperishable, what is and what is not, and what is beyond both.

Explanation

Why should they not bow to you?

Greater than Brahma the first maker; the imperishable; what is and what is not, and what is beyond both.

That last clause is 13.13's formula and 15.17's third term, spoken by Arjuna rather than to him. He has absorbed the teaching — and it did not prepare him for the sight.

Word by word

kasmāt: why
cha: and
te: you
na nameran: should they not bow down
mahā-ātman: The Great one
garīyase: who are greater
brahmaṇaḥ: than Brahma
api: even
ādi-kartre: to the original creator
ananta: The limitless One
deva-īśha: Lord of the devatās
jagat-nivāsa: Refuge of the universe
tvam: you
akṣharam: the imperishable
sat-asat: manifest and non-manifest
tat: that
param: beyond
yat: which