Bhagavad Gītā Decoded

Verse 11.47–11.50

Verses 11.47–11.50

Kṛṣṇa: The Cosmic Window

11.47

श्रीभगवानुवाच | मया प्रसन्नेन तवार्जुनेदं रूपं परं दर्शितमात्मयोगात् | तेजोमयं विश्वमनन्तमाद्यं यन्मे त्वदन्येन न दृष्टपूर्वम्

śrī bhagavānuvāca mayā prasannena tavārjunedaṁ rūpaṁ paraṁ darśitam ātma-yogāt / tejo-mayaṁ viśvamam anantamādyaṁ yanme tvad anyena na dṛṣṭa-pūrvam / / 11.47

Bhagavān says: Dear Arjuna, I happily show you this transcendental form within the material world of My internal power. No one before you has seen this unlimited, brilliant form.

śrī bhagavān uvāca — Śrī bhagavan says

mayā — by Me

prasannena — happily

tava — unto you

arjuna — O Arjuna

idam — this

rūpaṁ — form

paraṁ — transcen- dental

darśitaṁ — shown

ātmayogāt — by My internal power

tejomayaṁ — full of effulgence

viśvaṁ — the entire universe

anantaṁ — unlimited

ādyaṁ — original

yan me — that which is Mine

tvad anyena — besides you

na dṛṣṭapūrvam — no one has previously seen

11.48

न वेदयज्ञाध्ययनैर्न दानै- र्न च क्रियाभिर्न तपोभिरुग्रै: | एवंरूप: शक्य अहं नृलोके द्रष्टुं त्वदन्येन कुरुप्रवीर

na veda-yajñādhyayanairna dānaiḥ na ca kriyābhir na tapobhir ugraiḥ / evaṁ-rūpaḥ śakya ahaṁ nṛ-loke draṣṭuṁ tvadanyena kuru-pravīra / / 11.48

O best among Kuru warriors, no one had ever before seen this Universal form of mine, for neither by studying the Vedas nor by performing sacrifices or charities, can this form be seen. Only you have seen this form.

na — never

veda — by Vedic study

yajña — sacrifice

ādhyayanaiḥ — study

na dānaiḥ — not by charity

na — never

ca — also

kriyābhiḥ — by pious activities

na tapobhiḥ — by serious penances

ugraiḥ — severe

evaṁ — thus

rūpaḥ — form

śakyaḥ — can be seen

ahaṁ — I

nṛloke — in this material world

draṣṭuṁ — to see

tvad — you

anyena — by another

kurupravīra — O best among the Kuru warriors

11.49

मा ते व्यथा मा च विमूढभावो दृष्ट्वा रूपं घोरमीदृङ्ममेदम् | व्यपेतभी: प्रीतमना: पुनस्त्वं तदेव मे रूपमिदं प्रपश्य

mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍhabhāvo dṛṣṭvā rūpaṁ ghoramīdṛṅmamedam / vyapetabhīḥ prītamanāḥ punastvaṁ tadeva me rūpamidaṁ prapaśya / / 11.49

Do not be disturbed any longer by seeing this terrible form of Mine. Dear devotee, be free from all disturbances. With a peaceful mind, you can now see the form you wish to see.

mā — let it not be

te — unto you

vyathā — trouble

mā — let it not be

ca — also

vi- mūḍhabhāvaḥ — bewilderment

dṛṣṭvā — by seeing

rūpaṁ — form

ghoraṁ — terrible

īdṛk — like this

mama — My

idaṁ — as it is

vyapetabhīḥ — just become free from all fear

prītamanāḥ — be pleased in mind

punaḥ — again

tvaṁ — you

tat — that

eva — thus

me — My

rūpam — form

idaṁ — this

prapaśya — just see

11.50

सञ्जय उवाच | इत्यर्जुनं वासुदेवस्तथोक्त्वा स्वकं रूपं दर्शयामास भूय: | आश्वासयामास च भीतमेनं भूत्वा पुन: सौम्यवपुर्महात्मा

sañjaya uvāca ityarjunaṁ vāsudevastatho’ktvā svakaṁ rūpaṁ darśayāmāsa bhūyaḥ / āśvasayām āsa ca bhītam enaṁ bhūtvā punaḥ saumya-vapur-mahātmā / / 11.50

Sañjaya said: Kṛṣṇa, while speaking to Arjuna, revealed His form with four arms, Then assuming His human form He consoled the terrified Arjuna.

saṅjaya uvāca — Sañjaya said

iti — thus

arjunaṁ — unto Arjuna

vāsudevaḥ — Kṛṣṇa

tathā — that way

uktvā — saying

svakaṁ — His own

rūpaṁ — form

darśayāmāsa — showed

bhūyaḥ — again

āśvāsayāmāsa — also convinced him

ca — also

bhītam — fearful

enaṁ — him

bhūtvā punaḥ — becoming again

saumyavapuḥ — beautiful form

mahātmā — the great one

Kṛṣṇa consoles Arjuna in these verses. He is again His compassionate Self to His disturbed disciple. He tells Arjuna that no one, but no one, has had this great privilege of seeing His Cosmic form that He had just displayed to Arjuna. No penances, no rituals, no amount of scriptural reading and no other charities would gain this Vision for any one. ‘However, you are terrified. That is OK. See Me now in My normal form that you are used to worshipping.’ Kṛṣṇa is clear on this point. It is He who decides how He reveals Himself to His devotees and disciples. It is a gift from the Master, from the Divine.

It is not earned through effort. Of course, effort prepares one for the receipt of this great gift, but it is not the only necessary condition for the gift to be showered. Of course, in this chapter Arjuna seeks Kṛṣṇa’s Vision and it happens. It could have also happened without his seeking. The favor is for the Divine to give, not because we ask. It does not matter to Kṛṣṇa that Arjuna seemingly spurns this gift and would like to see Him as He normally does. What Kṛṣṇa offered was an unconditional gift that required neither acceptance nor appreciation. A Mother’s love for her child does not happen as a result of any effort on the child’s part.

The presence of the child spontaneously evokes the deep unconditional love of the Mother for the child. It is ultimately the surrender of the devotee to the Master, like the surrender of the infant to the mother that evokes this unconditional love. In the case of an infant, it is a reflex action. The nature of an infant is to be defenseless and in absolute surrender to the caregiver. In the case of a devotee, the root thought patterns of mental behavior need to be given up. This is far more difficult. The devotee has to return to his original and natural state of surrender to experience unconditional love. To achieve this he has to drop his mind.

He has to give up all the root thoughts patterns, both conscious and unconscious. When the mind is wiped clean of its templates of comparison, it makes no difference if the Divine appears to be loving or terrifying. In both aspects one accepts Divinity. Kṛṣṇa leads His disciple in stages through this path of Self- Realization, which is no different from the realization of the Divine. Only In This Way Can You Reach Me