Arjuna asks to see Krishna's imperishable form and is granted divine sight. He beholds the overwhelming universal form — all beings within it, time itself consuming the warriors — trembles, bows, and asks for grace.
WHERE WE ARE: The catalogue wasn't enough — Arjuna wants to SEE. Krishna grants divine eyes for a vision no mortal sight could survive: himself as the All, containing everything, devouring everything.
“Arjuna said: Out of grace toward me, you have spoken the supreme secret concerning the self, and by those words this delusion of mine is dispelled.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna opens Chapter 11 as a changed student: the confusion of Chapter 1 has lifted after the teaching of Chapters 7–10. His gratitude sets up the bold request that follows — to see with his own eyes what he has so far only heard described.
bhavāpyayau hi bhūtānāṃ śrutau vistaraśo mayā |tvattaḥ kamala-patrākṣa māhātmyam api cāvyayam ||
भवाप्ययौ · bhavāpyayau
coming into being and passing away
भूतानाम् · bhūtānām
of beings
श्रुतौ · śrutau
have been heard
विस्तरशः · vistaraśaḥ
in detail
त्वत्तः · tvattaḥ
from you
कमलपत्राक्ष · kamala-patrākṣa
O lotus-petal-eyed one
माहात्म्यम् · māhātmyam
greatness, glory
अव्ययम् · avyayam
imperishable
“The coming forth and passing away of beings I have heard in detail from you, O lotus-eyed one, and also your imperishable greatness.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna summarizes the twin themes of Chapter 10: Krishna as the origin and dissolution of all beings, and Krishna's imperishable glory. Hearing (śruta) is the first step; now he longs for direct seeing.
“It is just as you have declared yourself to be, O Supreme Lord — yet I long to see that majestic form of yours, O Supreme Person.”
— Original plain-language translation
Faith accepts the teaching, but love wants to behold. Arjuna does not doubt Krishna's words; he asks for vision to complete them. This verse gives the chapter its motion: from description to direct showing.
“If you think it can be seen by me, O Lord, O master of yoga, then reveal to me your imperishable self.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna leaves the decision to Krishna's judgment — a model of devotional asking without demand. The title Yogeshvara hints that what is about to be shown is not a magic trick but the fruit of Krishna's sovereign power of joining.
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।पश्य मे पार्थ रूपाणि शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः ।नानाविधानि दिव्यानि नानावर्णाकृतीनि च ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca |paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ |nānā-vidhāni divyāni nānā-varṇākṛtīni ca ||
श्रीभगवान् · śrībhagavān
the Blessed Lord
उवाच · uvāca
said
पश्य · paśya
behold
पार्थ · pārtha
O Partha
रूपाणि · rūpāṇi
forms
शतशः · śataśaḥ
by the hundred
सहस्रशः · sahasraśaḥ
by the thousand
नानाविधानि · nānā-vidhāni
of many kinds
दिव्यानि · divyāni
divine, shining
नानावर्णाकृतीनि · nānā-varṇākṛtīni
of many colors and shapes
“The Blessed Lord said: Behold, O Partha, my forms by the hundred and the thousand — manifold, divine, of many colors and shapes.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna grants the request at once; the repeated 'behold' becomes the refrain of the chapter. The plural forms stress that the cosmic vision is inclusive rather than single — everything at once, in every hue.
“Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Ashvins, and the Maruts — and many wonders never seen before, O Bharata.”
— Original plain-language translation
The catalog of Vedic gods inside one body makes the theological point visually: all the powers Arjuna once worshipped separately dwell together here. 'Never seen before' marks this as revelation, not recollection — compare the vibhuti list of Chapter 10.
“Here, in my body, behold today the whole world gathered into one — all that moves and all that stands — O Gudakesha, and whatever else you wish to see.”
— Original plain-language translation
This is the chapter's central claim in one line: unity holding multiplicity without erasing it. Krishna even includes the future — the battle's outcome, which Arjuna is anxious about — among the things he may now see.
“But you cannot see me with this eye of yours alone. I give you a divine eye — behold my majestic power.”
— Original plain-language translation
Grace precedes vision: the organ of seeing itself must be gifted before the object can appear. The 'divine eye' (divya-cakshus) becomes a famous symbol of revelation granted, not seized — echoed later in Sanjaya's own granted sight.
“Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, O king, Hari, the great master of yoga, revealed to Partha his supreme majestic form.”
— Original plain-language translation
The narration shifts back to the palace: Sanjaya describing to Dhritarashtra what Arjuna sees on the field. From here through verse 14, Sanjaya narrates the form itself, framing Arjuna's wonder for a blind king who can only listen.
“With countless faces and eyes, of countless wondrous aspects, adorned with countless divine ornaments, holding aloft countless divine weapons.”
— Original plain-language translation
Sanjaya's description proceeds by deliberate overload: every noun carries 'many' or 'divine.' The raised weapons already hint at the all-consuming power Arjuna will soon perceive as terror.
“Wearing divine garlands and garments, anointed with divine fragrance — the radiant God, all wonder, boundless, facing in every direction.”
— Original plain-language translation
The senses pile up — sight, scent, splendor — to suggest a fullness no single sense can hold. 'Faces everywhere' echoes the Purusha hymn of the Rig Veda, rooting this vision in older scripture.
“If the radiance of a thousand suns rising together in the sky were to burst forth at once — that might resemble the splendor of that great Being.”
— Original plain-language translation
Sanjaya reaches for the largest image available — a thousand simultaneous sunrises — and still says only 'might resemble.' In context the image marks splendor; the destructive aspect comes later, and the two should not be conflated.
“There, in the body of the God of gods, the son of Pandu beheld the whole world gathered into one, yet spread out in all its manifold divisions.”
— Original plain-language translation
The paradox is the point: oneness that does not dissolve difference. Arjuna sees unity and multiplicity at once — the fulfillment of Krishna's promise in verse 7, now confirmed by Sanjaya as witness.
“Then Dhananjaya, filled with wonder, his hair standing on end, bowed his head before the God and spoke with folded hands.”
— Original plain-language translation
The body reacts before speech: trembling, hair on end, prostration. From here through verse 31, Arjuna himself speaks inside the vision — awe and intimacy alternating as he tries to put boundlessness into words.
“Arjuna said: I see all the gods in your body, O God, and hosts of every kind of being — Brahma seated on his lotus throne, the Lord Shiva, all the seers, and the shining serpents.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna's report begins at the top of the cosmos: creator, great Lord, seers, and serpent powers all lodged in one body. Even rival centers of worship appear inside Krishna — an image of inclusion that later devotion built upon.
“I see you with countless arms, bellies, mouths, and eyes — endless in form on every side. I see no end, no middle, and no beginning of you, O Lord of the universe, O universal form.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna gropes for edges and finds none: no beginning, middle, or end. The verse turns vastness into address — the boundless is still 'you,' still the familiar charioteer, now recognized as the container of all.
“I see you crowned, bearing mace and discus — a mass of radiance shining everywhere, hard to behold, blazing like fire and sun all around, immeasurable.”
— Original plain-language translation
Amid infinity, the familiar emblems of Vishnu — crown, mace, discus — reassure Arjuna that this is still his Krishna. Glory here is almost unbearable brightness; the vision begins to strain the seer even as it exalts him.
“You are the imperishable, the supreme thing to be known, the final refuge of this universe. You are the undecaying guardian of the eternal law — I understand you to be the primeval Person.”
— Original plain-language translation
Wonder turns into theology: Arjuna names Krishna with the Upanishadic titles of the Absolute — akshara, nidhana, the ancient purusha. Seeing has become understanding; compare 8.3 and 10.12, where these same terms were only heard.
“Beginningless, middleless, endless, of infinite power and countless arms, with sun and moon as your eyes — I see you, mouth blazing with fire, scorching this whole world with your radiance.”
— Original plain-language translation
The mood darkens: the same radiance that adorned now scorches. Sun-moon eyes and a fire mouth belong to the cosmic consumer as well as the sustainer — preparing the reader for the vision of time devouring the warriors.
“The space between heaven and earth is filled by you alone, and all the directions too. Seeing this wondrous, terrible form of yours, the three worlds tremble, O great Being.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna now speaks for all three worlds, not just himself — fear becomes cosmic. The form is simultaneously adbhuta (wonderful) and ugra (fierce); the Gita insists the divine contains both faces.
“Hosts of gods enter into you; some in fear praise you with folded hands. Crying 'blessing!' the companies of great seers and perfected ones celebrate you with rich hymns.”
— Original plain-language translation
Even the gods are devotees here — some rush in, some shrink back, some sing. The detail of frightened gods praising with folded hands underlines that no rank of being stands outside or above this vision.
“The Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sadhyas, Vishvas, Ashvins, Maruts, and manes — and hosts of Gandharvas, Yakshas, Asuras, and Siddhas — all gaze at you in amazement.”
— Original plain-language translation
The inventory of every class of celestial being, including the Asuras, stresses totality: friend and foe alike stand inside the vision. All are spectators; only Arjuna is the addressed seer.
“Seeing your great form with its many mouths and eyes, O mighty-armed one, with its many arms, thighs, feet, and bellies, terrible with many fangs — the worlds tremble, and so do I.”
— Original plain-language translation
The fangs appear: beauty curdles into terror. Arjuna stops reporting others' fear and admits his own — the first crack in the ecstasy, as the devouring aspect of the vision comes forward.
“Seeing you touching the sky, blazing, many-hued, with gaping mouths and vast blazing eyes — my inner self trembles, and I find neither steadiness nor peace, O Vishnu.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna addresses Krishna as Vishnu for the first time in the dialogue — the cosmic preserver behind the friend. His confession of lost steadiness (dhriti) reverses the Gita's steady-wisdom ideal of Chapter 2; vision has undone him before rebuilding him.
दंष्ट्राकरालानि च ते मुखानि दृष्ट्वैव कालानलसन्निभानि ।दिशो न जाने न लभे च शर्म प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास ॥
daṃṣṭrā-karālāni ca te mukhāni dṛṣṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni |diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa ||
दंष्ट्राकरालानि · daṃṣṭrā-karālāni
terrible with fangs
मुखानि · mukhāni
mouths, faces
कालानलसन्निभानि · kālānala-sannibhāni
like the fire of the end of time
दिशः न जाने · diśo na jāne
I know not the directions
शर्म · śarma
refuge, comfort, shelter
प्रसीद · prasīda
be gracious, show favor
देवेश · deveśa
O Lord of gods
जगन्निवास · jagan-nivāsa
O abode of the world
“Seeing your mouths, terrible with fangs, like the fire at the end of time — I lose all sense of direction and find no refuge. Be gracious, O Lord of gods, O abode of the world.”
— Original plain-language translation
Disorientation is complete: Arjuna cannot tell the quarters. His cry 'prasida' (be gracious) is the devotee's lifeline — the same plea a worshipper makes before a fierce shrine image, terror and refuge sought in one breath.
amī ca tvāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ |bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūta-putras tathāsau sahāsmadīyair api yodha-mukhyaiḥ ||
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्राः · dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ
the sons of Dhritarashtra
अवनिपालसङ्घैः · avani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ
with hosts of kings
भीष्मः · bhīṣmaḥ
Bhishma
द्रोणः · droṇaḥ
Drona
सूतपुत्रः · sūta-putraḥ
the charioteer's son (Karna)
अस्मदीयैः · asmadīyaiḥ
with our own
योधमुख्यैः · yodha-mukhyaiḥ
with chief warriors
“All these sons of Dhritarashtra, with hosts of kings — Bhishma, Drona, and that son of a charioteer — along with our own chief warriors too —”
— Original plain-language translation
The vision narrows from cosmos to battlefield: Arjuna sees both armies' leaders by name. The sentence runs on into the next verse — the horror he is about to describe needs this roll-call first.
“— rushing into your mouths, terrible with fangs and frightful to see. Some are caught between your teeth, visible with their heads crushed to powder.”
— Original plain-language translation
The war's outcome is shown as already accomplished: warriors stream helplessly into the cosmic mouth. Krishna will confirm this reading in verse 34 — 'already slain by me.' Foreknowledge here serves to free Arjuna from the burden of doership.
“As the many torrents of rivers rush facing toward the ocean alone, so these heroes of the human world enter your blazing mouths.”
— Original plain-language translation
The first of two famous similes: rivers seeking the sea. The image is double-edged — natural, inevitable motion, yet ending in dissolution. All striving flows one way, into the one mouth.
“As moths rush with gathering speed into a blazing fire to perish, so too these beings rush with gathering speed into your mouths to perish.”
— Original plain-language translation
The second simile is harsher: not rivers fulfilling themselves but moths destroying themselves. The verse stresses the self-driven haste (samriddha-vega) of beings toward their end — time needs no help, only witnesses.
“Licking up all the worlds entire on every side with your blazing mouths, devouring them — filling the whole universe with radiance, your fierce rays scorch it, O Vishnu.”
— Original plain-language translation
The licking tongue makes the cosmic devourer vividly bodily. Arjuna's vision peaks here in horror; his next words will be a direct question — who are you in this form? — the turning point of the chapter.
आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपो नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद ।विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम् ॥
ākhyāhi me ko bhavān ugra-rūpo namo 'stu te deva-vara prasīda |vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṃ na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim ||
आख्याहि · ākhyāhi
tell, declare
कः भवान् · kaḥ bhavān
who are you
उग्ररूपः · ugra-rūpaḥ
of fierce form
नमः अस्तु · namaḥ astu
homage be
देववर · deva-vara
O best of gods
प्रसीद · prasīda
be gracious
आद्यम् · ādyam
primeval
प्रवृत्तिम् · pravṛttim
working, intent, course
“Tell me — who are you, of fierce form? Homage to you, O best of gods, be gracious. I wish to know you, the primeval one, for I do not grasp the course of your working.”
— Original plain-language translation
The friend has become a stranger: Arjuna asks 'who are you?' of the one he has known for years. The question invites Krishna's most awesome self-naming in the next verse — Time itself.
“The Blessed Lord said: I am Time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds — set forth here to gather in these worlds. Apart from you, none of these warriors arrayed in the hostile ranks shall survive.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Time moves powerfully on; act wisely while your moment lasts.
The chapter's thunderclap: Krishna names himself Kala, Time that ripens and reaps all things. The assurance that the enemy is already doomed reframes Arjuna's role from killer to instrument — developed in the next two verses. It is like the final exam bell that ends every paper, however well students are still writing.
“Therefore arise, win glory — conquering your foes, enjoy a flourishing kingdom. By me alone they are already slain; be a mere instrument, O ambidextrous one.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Do your part bravely and become a willing tool for good.
'Be a mere instrument' (nimitta-matram) is the chapter's practical fruit: action without the fever of authorship. Arjuna is promised both glory and kingdom — worldly ends explicitly affirmed as the field of selfless duty. It is like a fielder catching a ball already heading to his hands, doing his part without claiming the win.
द्रोणं च भीष्मं च जयद्रथं च कर्णं तथान्यानपि योधवीरान् ।मया हतांस्त्वं जहि मा व्यथिष्ठा युध्यस्व जेतासि रणे सपत्नान् ॥
droṇaṃ ca bhīṣmaṃ ca jayadrathaṃ ca karṇaṃ tathānyān api yodha-vīrān |mayā hatāṃs tvaṃ jahi mā vyathiṣṭhā yudhyasva jetāsi raṇe sapatnān ||
द्रोणम् · droṇam
Drona
भीष्मम् · bhīṣmam
Bhishma
जयद्रथम् · jayadratham
Jayadratha
कर्णम् · karṇam
Karna
हतान् · hatān
slain
जहि · jahi
strike, slay
मा व्यथिष्ठाः · mā vyathiṣṭhāḥ
do not tremble, do not waver
युध्यस्व · yudhyasva
fight
जेता असि · jetā asi
you shall conquer
“Drona and Bhishma, Jayadratha and Karna, and the other warrior heroes — slain by me, slay them yourself. Do not waver; fight, and you shall conquer your rivals in battle.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna names the very teachers and champions Arjuna grieved over in Chapter 1 — including Karna, still alive and formidable. Naming them 'already slain' dissolves the personal guilt that paralyzed Arjuna at the start.
“Sanjaya said: Hearing these words of Keshava, the crowned Arjuna, trembling with folded hands, bowed again and again and, still terrified, spoke to Krishna in a faltering voice.”
— Original plain-language translation
Sanjaya paints Arjuna at his lowest trembling point — stammering, repeatedly prostrating — just before his great hymn of praise. Terror has done its work; surrender and celebration follow.
अर्जुन उवाच ।स्थाने हृषीकेश तव प्रकीर्त्या जगत्प्रहृष्यत्यनुरज्यते च ।रक्षांसि भीतानि दिशो द्रवन्ति सर्वे नमस्यन्ति च सिद्धसङ्घाः ॥
arjuna uvāca |sthāne hṛṣīkeśa tava prakīrtyā jagat prahṛṣyaty anurajyate ca |rakṣāṃsi bhītāni diśo dravanti sarve namasyanti ca siddha-saṅghāḥ ||
स्थाने · sthāne
rightly, with good reason
हृषीकेश · hṛṣīkeśa
O Hrishikesha (master of senses)
प्रकीर्त्या · prakīrtyā
by the glorifying, by the praise
प्रहृष्यति · prahṛṣyati
rejoices exceedingly
अनुरज्यते · anurajyate
is devoted, is enamored
रक्षांसि · rakṣāṃsi
the Rakshasas (demons)
दिशः द्रवन्ति · diśaḥ dravanti
flee in all directions
नमस्यन्ति · namasyanti
they bow down
सिद्धसङ्घाः · siddha-saṅghāḥ
hosts of perfected beings
“Arjuna said: Rightly, O Hrishikesha, does the world rejoice and grow devoted in singing your glory. The Rakshasas flee terrified in all directions, and all the hosts of perfected ones bow before you.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna's long hymn (36–44) begins by justifying the world's twofold response: delight in the loving and flight in the hostile. His own fear now turns outward into praise — the pivot from terror to devotion.
“And why should they not bow to you, O great Being — greater even than Brahma, the primal creator? O boundless one, Lord of gods, abode of the world: you are the imperishable, being and non-being, and what lies beyond both.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna reasons the universe into worship: Krishna is prior even to Brahma the creator. 'Being, non-being, and beyond' gathers every metaphysical category into one address — compare 9.19, now spoken by the disciple, not the teacher.
“You are the primal God, the ancient Person, the supreme refuge of this universe. You are the knower and the knowable, the highest abode — by you this universe is pervaded, O boundless-formed one.”
— Original plain-language translation
Knower and known collapse into one: Krishna is both the subject who understands and the object understood. This non-dual note inside a devotional hymn shows the Gita holding knowledge and love together.
vāyur yamo 'gnir varuṇaḥ śaśāṅkaḥ prajāpatis tvaṃ prapitāmahaś ca |namo namas te 'stu sahasra-kṛtvaḥ punaś ca bhūyo 'pi namo namas te ||
वायुः · vāyuḥ
wind
यमः · yamaḥ
Yama (lord of death)
अग्निः · agniḥ
fire
वरुणः · varuṇaḥ
Varuna
शशाङ्कः · śaśāṅkaḥ
the moon
प्रजापतिः · prajāpatiḥ
Prajapati (lord of creatures)
प्रपितामहः · prapitāmahaḥ
the great-grandsire
नमः · namaḥ
homage
सहस्रकृत्वः · sahasra-kṛtvaḥ
a thousand times
“You are wind, death, fire, the ocean-god, the moon, the lord of creatures, the great-grandsire. Homage to you a thousand times — and again, and yet again, homage to you.”
— Original plain-language translation
The hymn names Krishna as every elemental power, then abandons enumeration for sheer repetition: homage a thousand times, and again. When categories fail, devotion repeats — an early statement of the namas-kirtana impulse.
नमः पुरस्तादथ पृष्ठतस्ते नमोऽस्तु ते सर्वत एव सर्व ।अनन्तवीर्यामितविक्रमस्त्वं सर्वं समाप्नोषि ततोऽसि सर्वः ॥
namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te namo 'stu te sarvata eva sarva |ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṃ sarvaṃ samāpnoṣi tato 'si sarvaḥ ||
नमः पुरस्तात् · namaḥ purastāt
homage before you
पृष्ठतः · pṛṣṭhataḥ
behind
सर्वतः · sarvataḥ
on every side
सर्व · sarva
O All
अनन्तवीर्य · ananta-vīrya
O infinite in power
अमितविक्रमः · amita-vikramaḥ
of boundless valor
समाप्नोषि · samāpnoṣi
you pervade, encompass
सर्वः · sarvaḥ
the All
“Homage before you and behind you; homage to you on every side, O All. Infinite in power and boundless in valor, you pervade all — therefore you are the All.”
— Original plain-language translation
Prostration in every direction answers a God who faces every direction (verse 11). The logic is stated plainly: because Krishna pervades all, he is all — immanence and identity in one line.
सखेति मत्वा प्रसभं यदुक्तं हे कृष्ण हे यादव हे सखेति ।अजानता महिमानं तवेदं मया प्रमादात्प्रणयेन वापि ॥
sakheti matvā prasabhaṃ yad uktaṃ he kṛṣṇa he yādava he sakheti |ajānatā mahimānaṃ tavedaṃ mayā pramādāt praṇayena vāpi ||
सखा · sakhā
friend
मत्वा · matvā
thinking, taking for
प्रसभम् · prasabham
presumptuously,heedlessly
अजानता · ajānatā
by one who did not know
महिमानम् · mahimānam
greatness, majesty
प्रमादात् · pramādāt
through folly, carelessness
प्रणयेन · praṇayena
through love, affection
“Taking you for a friend, I presumptuously called out 'O Krishna, O Yadava, O friend' — not knowing your majesty, whether through folly or through affection.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna begins his apology for past familiarity — the most human moment in the chapter. Intimacy that once comforted him now looks like irreverence; love itself becomes the ground of repentance.
yac cāvahāsārtham asatkṛto 'si vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneṣu |eko 'thavāpy acyuta tat samakṣaṃ tat kṣāmaye tvām aham aprameyam ||
अवहासार्थम् · avahāsārtham
for jest, in jest
असत्कृतः · asatkṛtaḥ
dishonored, treated lightly
विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु · vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneṣu
in play, rest, sitting, and meals
एकः · ekaḥ
alone
अच्युत · acyuta
O infallible one
समक्षम् · samakṣam
before others, in company
क्षामये · kṣāmaye
I beg forgiveness
अप्रमेयम् · aprameyam
immeasurable one
“And however lightly I treated you in jest — in play, in rest, at meals, sitting together — whether alone or before others, O infallible one — for all that I beg your forgiveness, O immeasurable one.”
— Original plain-language translation
The apology is touchingly concrete: jokes at meals, casual hours of camp life. The Gita treasures this — divine intimacy is not denied but forgiven and kept. Greatness does not cancel friendship; it deepens its courtesy.
pitāsi lokasya carācarasya tvam asya pūjyaś ca gurur garīyān |na tvat-samo 'sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto 'nyo loka-traye 'py apratima-prabhāva ||
पिता · pitā
father
चराचरस्य · carācarasya
of the moving and unmoving
पूज्यः · pūjyaḥ
worthy of worship
गुरुः गरीयान् · guruḥ garīyān
the weightiest teacher
त्वत्समः · tvat-samaḥ
equal to you
अभ्यधिकः · abhyadhikaḥ
greater, superior
अप्रतिमप्रभाव · apratima-prabhāva
O matchless in power
“You are the father of the world of moving and unmoving things, its worship-worthy and most weighty teacher. None is equal to you — how could another be greater — in all three worlds, O matchless in power?”
— Original plain-language translation
Father, teacher, and incomparable one: Arjuna stacks every relation of reverence. The rhetorical question ('how could another be greater?') closes all rivalry — this is exclusive devotion finding its philosophical voice.
“Therefore, bowing down and laying my body low, I seek your grace, O Lord worthy of praise. As a father bears with a son, as a friend with a friend, as a lover with the beloved — so should you bear with me, O God.”
— Original plain-language translation
The full prostration (body laid on the ground) accompanies the tenderest argument: forgive me in every capacity — father, friend, lover — that you hold toward me. Devotion claims intimacy even while confessing unworthiness.
अदृष्टपूर्वं हृषितोऽस्मि दृष्ट्वा भयेन च प्रव्यथितं मनो मे ।तदेव मे दर्शय देव रूपं प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास ॥
adṛṣṭa-pūrvaṃ hṛṣito 'smi dṛṣṭvā bhayena ca pravyathitaṃ mano me |tad eva me darśaya deva rūpaṃ prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa ||
अदृष्टपूर्वम् · adṛṣṭa-pūrvam
never seen before
हृषितः · hṛṣitaḥ
thrilled with joy
भयेन · bhayena
with fear
प्रव्यथितम् · pravyathitam
agitated
तत् एव रूपम् · tat eva rūpam
that same form
दर्शय · darśaya
show
प्रसीद · prasīda
be gracious
जगन्निवास · jagan-nivāsa
O abode of the world
“I am thrilled to have seen what was never seen before — yet my mind trembles with fear. Show me that same familiar form again, O God; be gracious, O Lord of gods, abode of the world.”
— Original plain-language translation
Joy and fear together — Arjuna names both honestly. The vision has fulfilled its purpose, and he now asks for its withdrawal: the human heart can love the infinite only when it returns to a face.
“Crowned, mace-bearing, discus in hand — I wish to see you just as before. Take again that four-armed form, O thousand-armed one, O universal-bodied one.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna requests the middle form: not the human charioteer only, but the four-armed Vishnu shape — grandeur made approachable. The vision descends by stages, as it rose by stages.
त्वदन्येन न दृष्टपूर्वम् · tvad-anyena na dṛṣṭa-pūrvam
never seen before by any other than you
“The Blessed Lord said: Graciously pleased, Arjuna, I have shown you this supreme form by my own power — radiant, universal, boundless, primeval — which none but you has ever seen.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna stresses gift over achievement: the form came from his pleased will (prasanna) and his own yoga-power, not Arjuna's effort. Exclusivity here honors the devotee rather than closing the teaching to others.
“Not by Vedic study or sacrifice, not by gifts, rites, or fierce austerities can I be seen in such a form in the world of men by any but you, O hero of the Kurus.”
— Original plain-language translation
Ritual and austerity alone cannot compel this vision — a claim that relativizes every technique beside devotion. The next verse names the one exception: single-hearted love, previewing Chapter 12's teaching.
“Let there be no anguish for you, no bewilderment, at seeing this dreadful form of mine. Freed from fear, with gladdened heart, behold again this familiar form of mine.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna speaks as comforter now, prescribing fearlessness as the fruit of vision rather than its price. The dreadful and the dear are one reality; Arjuna is invited back from awe to love.
“Sanjaya said: Speaking thus to Arjuna, Vasudeva revealed his own familiar form again, and the great Being, resuming his gentle appearance, reassured the frightened one.”
— Original plain-language translation
The return is gradual — majestic four-armed shape first, then the gentle human friend. Sanjaya notes the pastoral detail: the vision ends not with doctrine but with comfort, the warrior's terror soothed.
“Arjuna said: Seeing this gentle human form of yours, O Janardana, I am myself again — composed, returned to my own nature.”
— Original plain-language translation
Recovery is described as return to prakriti, one's own nature — composure regained through the familiar. The devotee loves the infinite, but lives with the intimate; both are true, and Arjuna now knows it.
śrībhagavān uvāca |su-durdarśam idaṃ rūpaṃ dṛṣṭavān asi yan mama |devā apy asya rūpasya nityaṃ darśana-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ ||
सुदुर्दर्शम् · su-durdarśam
very hard to behold
दृष्टवान् असि · dṛṣṭavān asi
you have seen
देवाः अपि · devāḥ api
even the gods
नित्यम् · nityam
ever, constantly
दर्शनकाङ्क्षिणः · darśana-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ
longing for the sight
“The Blessed Lord said: This form of mine that you have seen is very hard to behold — even the gods ever long for its sight.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna reframes Arjuna's privilege: celestials themselves yearn for what the warrior saw. Human devotion is thus ranked above mere celestial status — a recurring Gita elevation of the loving mortal.
“Not by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by charity, nor by sacrifice can I be seen in the way you have seen me.”
— Original plain-language translation
The negative catalog clears the ground for the positive teaching of the next verse. Learning, self-denial, generosity, and ritual all have their place — but none by itself opens this seeing.
भक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्य अहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन ।ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्त्वेन प्रवेष्टुं च परन्तप ॥
bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya aham evaṃ-vidho 'rjuna |jñātuṃ draṣṭuṃ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṃ ca parantapa ||
भक्त्या · bhaktyā
by devotion
अनन्यया · ananyayā
with no other (single-hearted)
शक्यः · śakyaḥ
possible
ज्ञातुम् · jñātum
to be known
द्रष्टुम् · draṣṭum
to be seen
तत्त्वेन · tattvena
in truth, in essence
प्रवेष्टुम् · praveṣṭum
to enter into
परन्तप · parantapa
O scorcher of foes
“But by single-hearted devotion I can be known, seen, and entered into in truth, O Arjuna, O scorcher of foes.”
— Original plain-language translation
Three verbs ascend: to know, to see, to enter — knowledge ripening into union. Ananya-bhakti (devotion to no other) becomes the chapter's parting doctrine and the bridge into Chapter 12's comparison of paths.
“Whoever acts for me, holds me supreme, is devoted to me, is free from attachment and without hatred toward any being — that one comes to me, O Pandava.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Work with love, stay unattached, hate no one, and you will arrive.
The chapter closes with a fivefold practice condensing the whole Gita: dedicated action, supreme aim, devotion, detachment, universal friendliness. Vision ends in ethics — the seer returns to the battlefield as an instrument of peace. It is like an employee working for the company mission, not office politics, and staying friendly with every coworker.
— Reader's notes (original)
This chapter in 3 sentences
Arjuna beholds countless faces, suns blazing at once, all beings streaming into flaming mouths like rivers into the sea. Terrified, he bows and begs grace — and learns the war's outcome is already decided: he need only be the instrument. The vision withdraws; the gentle human form returns; devotion, not spectacle, is the way back.