Bhagwad Gita (English) | Chapter 11 | Verse 23

Chapter 11, Verse 23

The Universal Form

O mighty-armed one, all the planets with their demigods are disturbed at seeing Your many faces, eyes, arms, bellies and legs and Your terrible teeth, and as they are disturbed, so am I.

Verse

रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं
महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम्।
बहूदरं बहुदंष्ट्राकरालं
दृष्ट्वा लोकाः प्रव्यथितास्तथाऽहम्।।11.23।।

rūpaṁ mahat te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ
mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam
bahūdaraṁ bahu-danṣhṭrā-karālaṁ
dṛiṣhṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham

Meaning of each word

rūpam — form;
mahat — magnificent;
te — your;
bahu — many;
vaktra — mouths;
netram — eyes;
mahā-bāho — mighty-armed Lord;
bahu — many;
bāhu — arms;
ūru — thighs;
pādam — legs;
bahu-udaram — many stomachs;
bahu-danṣhṭrā — many teeth;
karālam — terrifying;
dṛiṣhṭvā — seeing;
lokāḥ — all the worlds;
pravyathitāḥ — terror-stricken;
tathā — so also;
aham — I

Interpretation

In this verse, Arjuna is talking to Krishna about the incredible form he just witnessed—one that can be described as the Universal Form. This form is not just big; it's magnificent and full of many parts. Arjuna sees that Krishna has countless faces, eyes, arms, bellies, and legs. It’s like looking at something that is both beautiful and frightening at the same time. Arjuna expresses that even the gods and heavenly beings who live on other planets are shaken and scared when they see Krishna’s form. They are accustomed to powerful beings, but this sight is more than what they expected.

Arjuna's feelings of disturbance reflect how overwhelming this vision is. Imagine coming face to face with something so awe-inspiring that it makes you feel small and overwhelmed. Even Arjuna, who is a brave warrior and close friend of Krishna, feels fear. This shows how Krishna's true form is not just a regular shape; it’s something that goes beyond what anyone can easily understand or handle.

The many faces and arms suggest a form that can see and do everything at once. This indicates an amazing power and reach that can touch every part of the universe. The terrifying teeth make the form even more intimidating. When he describes that all the worlds are disturbed, it means that the sight of this form affects every creature.

Arjuna’s admission of his fear illustrates that even someone as strong and courageous as him can feel helpless in front of such a magnificent sight. It emphasizes the idea that Krishna's real nature is beyond our normal understanding. While we might think of him as a friend or a guide, his universal form reveals him as something greater, something that commands respect and awe. In summary, this verse illustrates the power and complexity of Krishna's nature, echoing a universal truth that there are forces in the world beyond our understanding that can evoke both wonder and fear.

Other Verses of Chapter 11

Verse 1
Arjuna said: I have heard Your instruction on confidential spiritual matters which You have so kindly delivered unto me, and my illusion is now dispelled.

Verse 2
O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the appearance and disappearance of every living entity, as realized through Your inexhaustible glories.

Verse 3
O greatest of all personalities, O supreme form, though I see here before me Your actual position, I yet wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.

Verse 4
If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that universal self.

Verse 5
The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, O son of Prtha, behold now My opulences, hundreds of thousands of varied divine forms, multicolored like the sea.

Verse 6
O best of the Bharatas, see here the different manifestations of Adityas, Rudras, and all the demigods. Behold the many things which no one has ever seen or heard before.

Verse 7
Whatever you wish to see can be seen all at once in this body. This universal form can show you all that you now desire, as well as whatever you may desire in the future. Everything is here completely.

Verse 8
But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence.

Verse 9
Sanjaya said: O King, speaking thus, the Supreme, the Lord of all mystic power, the Personality of Godhead, displayed His universal form to Arjuna.

Verse 10
With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wondrous sights, with numerous divine adornments, with numerous divine weapons uplifted, such a form He showed.

Verse 11
Wearing divine garlands and apparel, anointed with divine unguents, the all-wonderful, resplendent Being is endless with faces on all sides.

Verse 12
If hundreds of thousands of suns rose up at once into the sky, they might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form.

Verse 13
At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place although divided into many, many thousands.

Verse 14
Then, bewildered and astonished, his hair standing on end, Arjuna began to pray with folded hands, offering obeisances to the Supreme Lord.

Verse 15
Arjuna said: My dear Lord Krishna, I see assembled together in Your body all the demigods and various other living entities. I see Brahma sitting on the lotus flower as well as Lord Shiva and many sages and divine serpents.

Verse 16
O Lord of the universe, I see in Your universal body many, many forms-bellies, mouths, eyes-expanded without limit. There is no end, there is no beginning, and there is no middle to all this.

Verse 17
Your form, adorned with various crowns, clubs, and discs, is difficult to see because of its glaring effulgence, which is fiery and immeasurable like the sun.

Verse 18
You are the supreme primal objective; You are the best in all the universes; You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest; You are the maintainer of religion, the eternal Personality of Godhead.

Verse 19
You are the origin without beginning, middle or end. You have numberless arms, and the sun and moon are among Your great unlimited eyes. By Your own radiance You are heating this entire universe.

Verse 20
Although You are one, You are spread throughout the sky and the planets and all space between. O great one, as I behold this terrible form, I see that all the planetary systems are perplexed.

Verse 21
All the demigods are surrendering and entering into You. They are very much afraid, and with folded hands they are singing the Vedic hymns.

Verse 22
The different forms of Lord Shiva, the solar deities, the elemental gods, the gods of meditation, the universal gods, the twin gods of health, the storm gods, our ancestors, celestial musicians, nature spirits, demons, and perfected beings are all looking at You with amazement.

Verse 24
O all-pervading Visnu, I can no longer maintain my equilibrium. Seeing Your radiant colors fill the skies and beholding Your eyes and mouths, I am afraid.

Verse 25
O Lord of lords, O refuge of the worlds, please be gracious to me. I cannot keep my balance seeing thus Your blazing deathlike faces and awful teeth. In all directions I am bewildered.

Verse 26
All the sons of Dhritarashtra, along with the hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona, and Karna, as well as the chief among our warriors.

Verse 27
Some hurry into Your mouths with their terrible teeth, fearful to behold. Some are found stuck in the gaps between the teeth, their heads crushed to powder.

Verse 28
As the rivers flow into the sea, so all these great warriors enter Your blazing mouths and perish.

Verse 29
I see all people rushing with full speed into Your mouths as moths dash into a blazing fire.

Verse 30
O Visnu, I see You devouring all people in Your flaming mouths and covering the universe with Your immeasurable rays. Scorching the worlds, You are manifest.

Verse 31
O Lord of lords, so fierce of form, please tell me who You are. I offer my obeisances unto You; please be gracious to me. I do not know what Your mission is, and I desire to hear of it.

Verse 32
The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people. With the exception of you [the Pandavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.

Verse 33
Therefore get up and prepare to fight. After conquering your enemies, you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasacin, can be but an instrument in the fight.

Verse 34
The Blessed Lord said: All the great warriors-Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha, Karna-are already destroyed. Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies.

Verse 35
Sanjaya said to Dhrtarastra: O King, after hearing these words from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna trembled, fearfully offered obeisances with folded hands and began, falteringly, to speak as follows:

Verse 36
O Hrsikesa, the world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name and thus everyone becomes attached to You. Although the perfected beings offer You their respectful homage, the demons are afraid, and they flee here and there. All this is rightly done.

Verse 37
O great one, who stands above even Brahma, You are the original master. Why should they not offer their homage up to You, O limitless one? O refuge of the universe, You are the invincible source, the cause of all causes, transcendental to this material manifestation.

Verse 38
You are the original Personality, the Godhead. You are the only sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You know everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by You!

Verse 39
You are air, fire, water, and You are the moon! You are the supreme controller and the grandfather. Thus I offer my respectful obeisances unto You a thousand times, and again and yet again!

Verse 40
Obeisances from the front, from behind and from all sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless, might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everything!

Verse 41
Whatever I have presumptuously said from carelessness or love, addressing You as O Krishna! O Yadava! O Friend! regarding You merely as a friend, unknowing of Your greatness.

Verse 42
In whatever way I may have insulted You for the sake of fun, while at play, reposing, sitting, or at meals, when alone (with You), O Krishna, or in company, that I implore You, immeasurable one, to forgive.

Verse 43
You are the father of this complete cosmic manifestation, the worshipable chief, the spiritual master. No one is equal to You, nor can anyone be one with You. Within the three worlds, You are immeasurable.

Verse 44
You are the Supreme Lord, to be worshiped by every living being. Thus I fall down to offer You my respects and ask Your mercy. Please tolerate the wrongs that I may have done to You and bear with me as a father with his son, or a friend with his friend, or a lover with his beloved.

Verse 45
After seeing this universal form, which I have never seen before, I am gladdened, but at the same time my mind is disturbed with fear. Therefore please bestow Your grace upon me and reveal again Your form as the Personality of Godhead, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.

Verse 46
O universal Lord, I wish to see You in Your four-armed form, with helmeted head and with club, wheel, conch and lotus flower in Your hands. I long to see You in that form.

Verse 47
The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, happily do I show you this universal form within the material world by My internal potency. No one before you has ever seen this unlimited and glaringly effulgent form.

Verse 48
O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charities or similar activities can this form be seen. Only you have seen this.

Verse 49
Your mind has been perturbed upon seeing this horrible feature of Mine. Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free from all disturbance. With a peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.

Verse 50
Sanjaya said to Dhrtarastra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, while speaking thus to Arjuna, displayed His real four-armed form, and at last He showed him His two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna.

Verse 51
When Arjuna saw Krishna in His true form, he said: Now that I see You in this beautiful human-like shape, my mind feels calm, and I feel like I am back to my true self.

Verse 52
The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, the form which you are now seeing is very difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form which is so dear.

Verse 53
The form which you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances, nor by charity, nor by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am.

Verse 54
My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.

Verse 55
My dear Arjuna, one who is engaged in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of previous activities and from mental speculation, who is friendly to every living entity, certainly comes to Me.

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