In this chapter Arjuna wants to see the Divine Form of Lord Krishna, who gives Arjuna special vision, and shows him that form. That Divine Form has been described here. Arjuna's praise of the Lord and his request to the Lord, The Lord's terrifying form, more praises of the Lord, and ultimately Krishna promises Arjuna His grace, all these are contained in this chapter.
CHAPTER
Arjuna says : Dear Lord, through your love and kindness for me, you have told me the Supreme Secret of the Atma, knowing which all my doubts, and all my delusion, have gone.
I have heard from you in detail, about the birth, and about the destruction of things, and also about your never ending, imperishable glory, all of which I consider to be absolutely true.
After hearing all this, I would like to see your Divine Form. If you think that that Form can be seen by me, then dear Lord, please reveal to me that Eternal, Imperishable, Divine Form of yours.
On Arjuna's thus requesting, Lord Krishna showers His grace on Arjuna and says : Partha, behold My hundreds, thousands, many different shaped, and many different colored, Divine Form.
Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, both the Ashvin twins, the Maruts, and the various different, and separate forms of the Devas, which you have never seen before.
Today behold the whole world, the entire creation, behold all the animates and the inanimates, the moving and the non moving, and in addition, anything else that you wish to see, behold them all, in My body, gathered together in one place.
But you cannot see Me as such, with your human eyes. I will give you divine vision.
Behold My glory, and My Divine Cosmic Form.
Saying so, Lord Krishna gave Arjuna divine vision, and revealed to him, His Supreme, Cosmic, All Encompassing, Divine Form.
That Form had many mouths and many eyes. It contained many wonderful and amazing sights. It was adorned with many divine jewels, clothes, and garlands.
It had many divine weapons and armours. It was annointed with many divine fragrances and scents.
That Form was full of wonders. It was Divine, dazzling, Infinite, and All pervading.
As if a thousand suns had risen, and were all shining at the same time, such was the brightness and dazzle of that world encompassing, Divine Being.
There Arjuna saw, gathered in the body of Lord Krishna, the entire world, in all its different forms and shapes, the whole multitude of creation, gathered together in one place, in the body of the Lord.
Seeing this, Arjuna was wonder struck. His hair stood on end. He bowed his head, and with folded hands, saluted the Lord and said : Lord in Your body, I see all the gods, and the groups of various and different beings.
I see Lord Brahma on his lotus throne, I see Lord Shiva, and I see all the sages, and the divine serpents.
Your form extends to infinity on all sides. Your many arms, your many stomachs, your many faces, and your many eyes, spread out in all the directions. I can see neither Your beginning, nor Your middle, nor Your end.
I see you wearing your crown, holding your disc and the mace. I see you shining in all directions, like a huge collection of dazzling lights, looking at whom is very difficult, and who blinds and dazzles, being much , much brighter than many, many blazing suns.
You are the Imperishable God, who should be known. You are the total cause of this world.
You are the Immortal guardian of the Eternal Dharma, of Eternal Righteousness. I now know, that You are the Eternal Person.
I see that You have no beginning, You have no middle, and You have no end. Your glory is limitless. You have countless arms.
The sun and the moon are your eyes. Your face is like a blazing fire, and through Your radiant energy, You light up, and warm the entire world.
The entire space between the earth and the sky, and all the directions are pervaded by You alone. When this wondrous, terrible form of Yours is seen, then all the three worlds tremble.
Groups of deities enter into You, some of whom, full of fear and with folded hands sing your praises. Great sages and the realized ones saying, " may all be well, " also sing verses full of praises for you.
Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, monks, deities, the Ashwin twins, Maruts and the ancestors, plus groups of Celestial musicians, benevolent spirits, demons and realized ones, are all looking at You and, seeing You, are all wonder struck.
Seeing this colossal form of Yours, having many faces and many eyes, many arms, many thighs and many legs, and many stomachs, made all the more terrible looking, by your many large teeth, all the worlds tremble, and, like every one else, I too tremble.
Seeing this sky touching, many colored, dazzling form of Yours, with mouths wide open, and with big shining eyes, my whole being is gripped with fear. I tremble, and I am neither able to compose myself, nor do I have any peace.
When I see Your terrible and fearsome, all devouring, flame throwing mouths, with their big teeth, I lose sight of all directions, and I am not even able to maintain my composure. O Lord and source of all the gods, as well as of the world, have pity on me.
There I see all the groups of kings, along with the sons of Dhritrashtra, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and the main warriors of our army as well. I see all of them rush into Your terrible mouths, which on account of the big teeth, look very fearsome indeed.
Just as the many fast moving currents of the rivers, rush towards the ocean, so too, are the brave warriors of this world, rushing into Your flame gorging mouths.
Just as the moths hasten to their destruction towards the flame, so too are these people rushing into Your mouths, for their destruction.
O Vishnu, licking them, you swallow up all these people, with Your flaming mouths.
Your rays, full of fire, with their terrible heat, scorch the entire world.
Foremost among the Gods, tell me who You are, You of terrible form? Have pity on me.
I want to know who You, the First God are, because I do not know Your activities, I do not know Your Nature, I do not know Your Design, and I do not know your scheme of things.
Lord Krishna replies : I am Time, the destroyer of the worlds, at present engaged in subjugating all these worlds. The warriors in both the armies will not remain alive even without your fighting. They will all die.
Therefore, get up, defeat your enemies, enjoy this prosperous kingdom, and attain fame. All these warriors have already been slain by Me. You be just My instrument and slay Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Jayadratha and the other brave warriors. In this war, you will definitely be victorious over your enemies.
Hearing Lord Krishna's words Arjuna trembles, he folds his hands, bows his head, and in a choked, and tremulous voice says :
Lord,the world which takes delight in singing Your praises, rightly does so, and the whole world tries to be like You.
Demons, stricken with fear, scatter in all directions, and groups of the realized ones salute you with respect. And why should they not salute You, because You are greater than even Lord Brahma, the creator.
O Lord of the world, O Limitless One, O Source and the Origin of the world, O Imperishable One, You are the Truth, and You are the Untruth, and what is beyond them both, You are That.
Because You are the first among the Gods, you are the final refuge.
Only You are the knower, and only You are worth knowing.
You are the highest goal, the highest aim; and You have pervaded this whole world.
You are the wind, You are the fire, You are the aquatic being, You are death, You are the moon, You are the sun . You are the Father of all, even of Prajapati, the Creator, Lord Brahma.
I salute You a thousand times, I salute You again and again, and yet again. I salute You from front, I salute you from behind. You of all Forms, I salute you from all sides. Your power has no limits, and Your might is infinite. You are absorbed in every one. Therefore, you are everything.
Not knowing this greatness and this glory of Yours, and also not knowing that You are God, and understanding You to be my friend only, unknowingly, through ignorance, and because of my love and affection for You, I have, in the past, addressed You as "Hey Krishna, hey Yadava, hey friend, " sometimes during play, sometimes during meal time, sometimes while resting on the bed, sometimes alone, or in front of others and, sometimes in jest. If, in any way, I have shown any disrespect to You, then, for all such infractions of mine, I seek your forgiveness.
You are the Lord of this whole moving and non moving world. You are the Teacher to be respected and worshiped.
In all the three worlds, there is none to even equal You, then how can there be anyone greater than You?
Therefore, prostrating My entire body before You, and saluting You, I seek to please You, O Lord worth worshiping.
Forgive and tolerate my infractions and my behavior, just as a father forgives the transgressions of his son, the friend of his friend, and the lover of his beloved.
I have seen that wonderful and amazing form of Yours, which before this,
has never been seen by any one else, and seeing which, though I am filled with bliss, yet my heart trembles with fear. O Lord, be pleased with me, and show me Your earlier human form.
O thousand armed Lord, of colossal form, I want to see you as before, wearing your crown and holding your mace and disc in your hands. O Lord, please show me only Your earlier, calm and serene human form.
On Arjuna's so requesting lord Krishna says : Partha, pleased with You, through My divine power, I have showed You My Supreme Form, full of light, world straddling, limitless and the First, which in this world of mortals, apart from you, no one else has seen.
Seeing this terrifying Form of Mine, do not be afraid, do not be confused, and do not be deluded. Forsake your fear, be happy, and behold My earlier human form.
Saying so, Krishna resumes his normal calm and serene, human form, and comforts Arjuna.
Seeing the Lord's human form again, Arjuna calms down and says : Lord seeing this serene human form of Yours, I have become calm and composed, and have returned to my natural state.
Then Lord Krishna says to Arjuna : Partha, you have seen that form of Mine which is very difficult to see. Even the Gods in heaven are ever eager to see this Form of Mine.
In the Form you have seen Me, in that Form I cannot be seen through the study of the Vedas or other scriptures, or through performing rituals, or through charity, or through rigorous penance or austerity, or through sacrifices. In this world I cannot be seen through any of these.
But through continuous and undistracted devotion and worship, I can be known in this Form, really seen, and also entered into.
The person who does work only for me, Who considers only Me as his goal, who worships only Me, who has no attachments, and who has no enmity or feelings of hatred towards any one, such a one definitely reaches Me.
End of Chapter Eleven
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI OM
CHAPTER
Arjuna says : Dear Lord, through your love and kindness for me, you have told me the Supreme Secret of the Atma, knowing which all my doubts, and all my delusion, have gone.
I have heard from you in detail, about the birth, and about the destruction of things, and also about your never ending, imperishable glory, all of which I consider to be absolutely true.
After hearing all this, I would like to see your Divine Form. If you think that that Form can be seen by me, then dear Lord, please reveal to me that Eternal, Imperishable, Divine Form of yours.
On Arjuna's thus requesting, Lord Krishna showers His grace on Arjuna and says : Partha, behold My hundreds, thousands, many different shaped, and many different colored, Divine Form.
Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, both the Ashvin twins, the Maruts, and the various different, and separate forms of the Devas, which you have never seen before.
Today behold the whole world, the entire creation, behold all the animates and the inanimates, the moving and the non moving, and in addition, anything else that you wish to see, behold them all, in My body, gathered together in one place.
But you cannot see Me as such, with your human eyes. I will give you divine vision.
Behold My glory, and My Divine Cosmic Form.
Saying so, Lord Krishna gave Arjuna divine vision, and revealed to him, His Supreme, Cosmic, All Encompassing, Divine Form.
That Form had many mouths and many eyes. It contained many wonderful and amazing sights. It was adorned with many divine jewels, clothes, and garlands.
It had many divine weapons and armours. It was annointed with many divine fragrances and scents.
That Form was full of wonders. It was Divine, dazzling, Infinite, and All pervading.
As if a thousand suns had risen, and were all shining at the same time, such was the brightness and dazzle of that world encompassing, Divine Being.
There Arjuna saw, gathered in the body of Lord Krishna, the entire world, in all its different forms and shapes, the whole multitude of creation, gathered together in one place, in the body of the Lord.
Seeing this, Arjuna was wonder struck. His hair stood on end. He bowed his head, and with folded hands, saluted the Lord and said : Lord in Your body, I see all the gods, and the groups of various and different beings.
I see Lord Brahma on his lotus throne, I see Lord Shiva, and I see all the sages, and the divine serpents.
Your form extends to infinity on all sides. Your many arms, your many stomachs, your many faces, and your many eyes, spread out in all the directions. I can see neither Your beginning, nor Your middle, nor Your end.
I see you wearing your crown, holding your disc and the mace. I see you shining in all directions, like a huge collection of dazzling lights, looking at whom is very difficult, and who blinds and dazzles, being much , much brighter than many, many blazing suns.
You are the Imperishable God, who should be known. You are the total cause of this world.
You are the Immortal guardian of the Eternal Dharma, of Eternal Righteousness. I now know, that You are the Eternal Person.
I see that You have no beginning, You have no middle, and You have no end. Your glory is limitless. You have countless arms.
The sun and the moon are your eyes. Your face is like a blazing fire, and through Your radiant energy, You light up, and warm the entire world.
The entire space between the earth and the sky, and all the directions are pervaded by You alone. When this wondrous, terrible form of Yours is seen, then all the three worlds tremble.
Groups of deities enter into You, some of whom, full of fear and with folded hands sing your praises. Great sages and the realized ones saying, " may all be well, " also sing verses full of praises for you.
Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, monks, deities, the Ashwin twins, Maruts and the ancestors, plus groups of Celestial musicians, benevolent spirits, demons and realized ones, are all looking at You and, seeing You, are all wonder struck.
Seeing this colossal form of Yours, having many faces and many eyes, many arms, many thighs and many legs, and many stomachs, made all the more terrible looking, by your many large teeth, all the worlds tremble, and, like every one else, I too tremble.
Seeing this sky touching, many colored, dazzling form of Yours, with mouths wide open, and with big shining eyes, my whole being is gripped with fear. I tremble, and I am neither able to compose myself, nor do I have any peace.
When I see Your terrible and fearsome, all devouring, flame throwing mouths, with their big teeth, I lose sight of all directions, and I am not even able to maintain my composure. O Lord and source of all the gods, as well as of the world, have pity on me.
There I see all the groups of kings, along with the sons of Dhritrashtra, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and the main warriors of our army as well. I see all of them rush into Your terrible mouths, which on account of the big teeth, look very fearsome indeed.
Just as the many fast moving currents of the rivers, rush towards the ocean, so too, are the brave warriors of this world, rushing into Your flame gorging mouths.
Just as the moths hasten to their destruction towards the flame, so too are these people rushing into Your mouths, for their destruction.
O Vishnu, licking them, you swallow up all these people, with Your flaming mouths.
Your rays, full of fire, with their terrible heat, scorch the entire world.
Foremost among the Gods, tell me who You are, You of terrible form? Have pity on me.
I want to know who You, the First God are, because I do not know Your activities, I do not know Your Nature, I do not know Your Design, and I do not know your scheme of things.
Lord Krishna replies : I am Time, the destroyer of the worlds, at present engaged in subjugating all these worlds. The warriors in both the armies will not remain alive even without your fighting. They will all die.
Therefore, get up, defeat your enemies, enjoy this prosperous kingdom, and attain fame. All these warriors have already been slain by Me. You be just My instrument and slay Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Jayadratha and the other brave warriors. In this war, you will definitely be victorious over your enemies.
Hearing Lord Krishna's words Arjuna trembles, he folds his hands, bows his head, and in a choked, and tremulous voice says :
Lord,the world which takes delight in singing Your praises, rightly does so, and the whole world tries to be like You.
Demons, stricken with fear, scatter in all directions, and groups of the realized ones salute you with respect. And why should they not salute You, because You are greater than even Lord Brahma, the creator.
O Lord of the world, O Limitless One, O Source and the Origin of the world, O Imperishable One, You are the Truth, and You are the Untruth, and what is beyond them both, You are That.
Because You are the first among the Gods, you are the final refuge.
Only You are the knower, and only You are worth knowing.
You are the highest goal, the highest aim; and You have pervaded this whole world.
You are the wind, You are the fire, You are the aquatic being, You are death, You are the moon, You are the sun . You are the Father of all, even of Prajapati, the Creator, Lord Brahma.
I salute You a thousand times, I salute You again and again, and yet again. I salute You from front, I salute you from behind. You of all Forms, I salute you from all sides. Your power has no limits, and Your might is infinite. You are absorbed in every one. Therefore, you are everything.
Not knowing this greatness and this glory of Yours, and also not knowing that You are God, and understanding You to be my friend only, unknowingly, through ignorance, and because of my love and affection for You, I have, in the past, addressed You as "Hey Krishna, hey Yadava, hey friend, " sometimes during play, sometimes during meal time, sometimes while resting on the bed, sometimes alone, or in front of others and, sometimes in jest. If, in any way, I have shown any disrespect to You, then, for all such infractions of mine, I seek your forgiveness.
You are the Lord of this whole moving and non moving world. You are the Teacher to be respected and worshiped.
In all the three worlds, there is none to even equal You, then how can there be anyone greater than You?
Therefore, prostrating My entire body before You, and saluting You, I seek to please You, O Lord worth worshiping.
Forgive and tolerate my infractions and my behavior, just as a father forgives the transgressions of his son, the friend of his friend, and the lover of his beloved.
I have seen that wonderful and amazing form of Yours, which before this,
has never been seen by any one else, and seeing which, though I am filled with bliss, yet my heart trembles with fear. O Lord, be pleased with me, and show me Your earlier human form.
O thousand armed Lord, of colossal form, I want to see you as before, wearing your crown and holding your mace and disc in your hands. O Lord, please show me only Your earlier, calm and serene human form.
On Arjuna's so requesting lord Krishna says : Partha, pleased with You, through My divine power, I have showed You My Supreme Form, full of light, world straddling, limitless and the First, which in this world of mortals, apart from you, no one else has seen.
Seeing this terrifying Form of Mine, do not be afraid, do not be confused, and do not be deluded. Forsake your fear, be happy, and behold My earlier human form.
Saying so, Krishna resumes his normal calm and serene, human form, and comforts Arjuna.
Seeing the Lord's human form again, Arjuna calms down and says : Lord seeing this serene human form of Yours, I have become calm and composed, and have returned to my natural state.
Then Lord Krishna says to Arjuna : Partha, you have seen that form of Mine which is very difficult to see. Even the Gods in heaven are ever eager to see this Form of Mine.
In the Form you have seen Me, in that Form I cannot be seen through the study of the Vedas or other scriptures, or through performing rituals, or through charity, or through rigorous penance or austerity, or through sacrifices. In this world I cannot be seen through any of these.
But through continuous and undistracted devotion and worship, I can be known in this Form, really seen, and also entered into.
The person who does work only for me, Who considers only Me as his goal, who worships only Me, who has no attachments, and who has no enmity or feelings of hatred towards any one, such a one definitely reaches Me.
End of Chapter Eleven
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI OM
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