Bhakti Shastri (110) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Text 05 to 17

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Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastri course.
We are in the 11th chapter. It’s about to start off in reviewing through the Gita’s description what is one of the most extraordinary mystical religious visions in all of religious history. In different religious traditions, there are saints and seers who get visions.
So, Muhammad is supposed to have got a vision which took him to, in which he saw, met all the previous prophets, Jesus and Abraham, Moses and Abraham. And he’s supposed to have seen the face of Allah also. But what actually he saw when he saw God is not described in the Quran.
Jesus is said to have been the son of God and he has been in touch with God. But what were the nature of those interactions that is not spoken about much. So, the manifestation of God that is described in this chapter in the Bhagavad Gita has few parallels, few if any parallels in the religious literature of the world.
So, there have been many great saints throughout history who have had experiences of God, no doubt. But here the experience is not just an inner experience, it’s an outer vision. And that vision is not just some imagination, it’s a revolution.
So, Arjuna is seeing, not because of some imagination from his mind, but it’s a revolution that is given by God himself. So, God is revealing how he is the universal form. So, what exactly does the universal form mean and how does it relate with our normal understanding of various things? We will see this in due course.
Let’s look at Arjuna’s verses, the Gita’s verses, how they describe this mysterious phenomena. So, let’s look at it from the Bhagavad Gita verses 5 onwards. So, here we discussed what is happening in this chapter.
Let’s have a quick overview of the chapter once again. Verses 1 to 4 was Arjuna’s request, verses 5 to 8 was Krishna’s description of the universal form. Then 9 to 14 is Sanjay’s description of the universal form.
And after that 15 to 31 is Arjuna’s description. And then it moves forward. So, let’s start by looking at Krishna’s description of the universal form.
So, we’ll look at the description and as we move forward, we’ll try to understand the concepts that are implied by the description. So, pashyame, see my roopani. Now, Arjuna had asked to see the roopaishwarya, the mysterious form, roopaishwarya, the opulence of the form.
So, partha roopani. So, roopani means here Arjuna is being told that there is not just one form, there are many forms in it. So, actually it is one majestic form which in cohesion or in synthesis can be called as the universal form.
But within that universal form, there are many, many forms. So, pashya. So, actually this word pashya will come several times in this chapter and especially in Krishna’s description over here in the next four verses.
And the point is that Arjuna had desired to see and Krishna is see now. Krishna is saying see, see. So, this is a, as I said, not just experience or inner realisation, it’s a visible vision for Arjuna.
So, now actually how many forms are there? Shatha is hundred, sahasrasha is thousands. So, in that one form, there are hundreds and thousands of forms. Nana vidhani divyani.
Nana vidhani. That there are many different kinds of forms also, variegated and they are all divine, they are all extraordinary, they are connected with God. So, varna is colour, akriti is shape.
So, they are, that means there is one universal form, but within that there is tremendous variety. First of all, there are many forms. All of them but then they are of different colours, they are of different shapes and they are variegated.
So, this is the mysterious vision that Krishna is revealing to Arjuna. So, normally when we see, we don’t just see with the eyes, we see with our intelligence. This is not just a philosophical point, it’s also a practical reality.
When we see, we can’t make sense of things unless our intelligence has some past framework by which we can make sense of things. There are two kinds of blindness, there is congenital blindness and there is advantageous blindness. So, congenital is when a person is blind right from the birth itself.
Advantageous is when the person becomes blind over a period of time after having had a vision for some time. Now, in some cases, if the cause of the blindness is correctable, then the person who is blind may be able to get back eyes through surgery and through other medical treatment. Now, if the person had been congenitally blind and got back eyes, say the person has been blind for 15 years, 20 years and then for the first time surgery is done and the person gets back eyes.
Now, after the person gets back eyes, there have been medical journal articles and even books written about this, where these people who are blind and they got the eyes back, when they opened their eyes, all that they could sense was just a confused haze of light and colours which is all incoherent for them. So, one of those persons, he describes when he asked, you know, I just opened my eyes and I could just see a bewildering maze of colours and suddenly I heard a voice and then I looked in that direction and then I saw a pattern of dark and faint colours and because I knew that voices came from faces, so I realised whatever I was seeing was a face, but he just couldn’t make sense of it. So, there was a carpenter who would use tools and for many, many years this carpenter had been using tools to cut wood, although he was blind.
So, when the first time he saw a tool for cutting, he looked at it and he looked at it and he never seen it only, just couldn’t make sense of it, although he’d been using it. So, throughout his life for earning a livelihood, but still it was completely unfamiliar and then as he was looking at it without being able to make any sense, then as soon as his moments were unsure and unsteady, but then as soon as he touched, then immediately, oh, this is the part, this is the blade part, this is the handle part, he started picking up and using it. So, he was able to use it far better with the sense of touch than he was with the sense of sight.
Why is that? Because our knowledge proceeds from the familiar to the unfamiliar. We have something familiar that we know and then something more which connects with the familiar and that’s how our knowledge proceeds further. But when there is no framework for our knowledge, when there is nothing familiar to which the unfamiliar can lodge on, then there is no intelligibility in the perception.
So, people who are congenitally blind, if somehow they get eyes, they need a long period of inculturation for them to get accustomed and habituated to having eyes and to function with the eyes. It’s not easy for them. Why? Because they just have no prior frame of reference with which to view the world.
So, actually people see not just with their eyes, they see with their intelligence. So, the colour patterns and the shapes and everything that we see with our eyes, if we did not have a prior bank of experience with which to connect it, we would not be able to understand it. So, similarly here, Arjuna is going to get a vision for which he has no prior connection to make.
Nobody has seen anything like this and Krishna will also tell several times in this chapter, Adrushta Purvani. This has never been seen before. Adrushta Purvani.
So, Drushta is to see. Adrushta is not to see, not seen. Purvani is in the past.
This has never been seen before. So, therefore, Krishna by these introductory verses is giving Arjuna some basic framework by which Arjuna will be able to make sense of what he is going to see now. So, therefore, Krishna is telling Arjuna, he is orienting himself.
Like when a person gets into a company, there is an orientation course. So, that person knows what is that. This is the department of the company.
These are the in-charges. This is here, this is here. So, now, Arjuna needs a orientation course before he can have a perception session with the universal form.
So, that orientation course is these first four verses where Krishna is giving Arjuna a pre-description of the view that is going to follow. And then when he describes this, he says, now Prabhupada explains in the purport that actually Krishna is not interested, Arjuna is not interested in seeing the form for himself. And what is the reason that Arjuna wants to, has asked Krishna to show the form? He is saying, just like the previous chapter, when Arjuna asked the questions in 10.16 to 10.18, the reason for asking the question was for Lokasangraha.
People cannot see the spiritual realities. They can see mere matter. So, from matter, how to guide them to spirit? That was the purpose.
Similarly, here in this chapter also, how will people know that someone is God? So, one aspect is to recognise that that person has extraordinary power and the capacity to do extraordinary things. And one of the things that the person is capable of doing is displaying the universal form. So, here Arjuna is requesting Krishna that you please display the universal form so that people who are naysayers, people who are doubters, who, so there can be two categories of people.
People who are very gullible and who believe, believe anyone and everyone who claims to be God. And there are naysayers who even don’t believe the real God is God. So, actually there are two kinds of illusions.
So, to think of God to be ordinary person and to think of an ordinary person to be God. So, this is in the 18th chapter, we will see the characteristic of knowledge and ignorance is sarvaarthan viparitamsthya. That sarvaarthan, what is the reality? Exactly opposite one perceives of that.
So, that sort of misfortune of perceiving the opposite of the reality, that is to be avoided. And Krishna wants to protect, Arjuna wants to protect people from that. So, Krishna has told so much about his opulences and some naysayers may think this is just Krishna bragging about himself.
But no, Krishna, Arjuna wants Krishna to demonstrate so that people will know that Krishna is not just speaking words, Krishna has the, the words that Krishna is speaking are real and Krishna can demonstrate them. And he will set a precedent that if anybody wants to claim to be God, that person has to be able to show the universal form. So, Arjuna’s request is primarily for the sake of people in general so that the people in general will have a standard by which to know who is really God and who is not God.
So, let us see now what happens. So, as the verse moves forward. So, paśyādityān vasundhrudrān aśvinam marutas tathā bahunyadrśtapurvāṇi paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata So, paśyā, now a whole, who is who in Vedic cosmology is being revealed in this universal form.
paśyādityān vasundhrudrān. So, many of these people, if you see, they were mentioned in the Vibhutis. So, these are already powerful personalities.
So, ādityānāṁ mahaṁ viṣṇu śaṅkarāṇaṁ śaṅkarāṇaṁ śaṅkarāṇaṁ śaṅkarāṇaṁ śaṅkarāṇaṁ rudras cāsmīs, like that. Vasunāṁ asmi vāsuki. So, like that, basically what was described was, these are all illustrious persons and among them the person who is most illustrious, that is Krishna.
That person is manifesting Krishna’s glories. So, paÅ›yādityān vasundhrudrān. So, see the ādityā, see the vasu, see the rudras.
And aśvino marutas tatha. So, see the aśvina, see the marutas. So, marichirmarutāṁ asmi was also described in the previous chapter.
bahuṇy adruṣṭapurvāṇi bahuṇy, like that, all the powerful personalities in the universe are here. adruṣṭapurvāṇi, what no one else has seen till now. paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata paśyāścaryāṇi.
It’s actually amazing what is being seen. bhārata bhārata. So, what is being seen is amazing.
paśyāścaryāṇi. So, actually, for the, this is the āścarya. So, second time the word paśya has come and along with that the āścarya is described.
So, now, it may seem that is Krishna sort of praising himself here. They say, what I’m going to show you is amazing. No, it’s not Krishna praising himself.
Krishna is just stating objective reality. You know, all these celestial personalities are not very easy to behold. Even alone, they are not really very easily visible for human beings.
You got to speak of all of them together in one form. That is a revelation by the absolute truth that is even more extraordinary. So, paśyāścaryāṇi, second time the word paśya has come.
Now, again, third time the word paśya will come. ihaikastam jagadkṛtnam paśyādyaśacarācaraṁ mamadehe guḍākeśa yacchānyadrasthu micchasi So, ihaikastam, iha-ekastam, here at one place. Jagadkṛtnam, the whole universe is see.
ihaikastam jagadkṛtnam paśyādyaśacarācaraṁ paśyādyaśacarācaraṁ Now, so chara and chara. So, the moving and the non-moving. At one place, everything in the universe can be said kṛtstham.
Kṛtstham is everything as we discussed earlier. mamadehe guḍākeśa. So, guḍākeśa, oh Arjuna, see all this in mamadehe, in my body.
So, Krishna is clearly telling, what is this vision that you are seeing? It’s my body. So, till now, the specific word vishwarÅ«pa has not come. That will come later on when Arjuna speaks his description and glorification of the vision that he is having.
But this is also one of the close references where the Lord is telling us, this is mamadehe, this is my form. Which kind of form? Now, when Krishna is saying, this is my form, what does it mean? It’s actually referring to the form of the Supreme Lord, which is manifested in the virāṭrÅ«pa. yecchānyad drashtu micchasi yecchānyad And beyond this, whatever else you may want to see, that also you can see over here.
So, what does it mean, whatever else you may want to see, yecchānyad? Actually, it refers to the future outcome of the battle. Arjuna is about to wage a fierce war and because he is going to wage a war, he will naturally be eager to know what is going to be the fate. Who is going to win? Who is going to lose? So, although that is not specifically what Arjuna has asked, but Krishna will show you that also.
In this way, Krishna is giving Arjuna a temporary provisional glimpse of omniscience. Omniscience means to know everything. So, glimpse of omniscience means that he is saying, at one place, you will be able to see everything.
Normally, when we are at one place, we can see only what is visible in that place. If I am in a particular room, I can see what is in that room. Now, through some high-tech gadgets, through internet, we can be in one place and we can know a lot about various places.
Okay, this is happening there, that is happening there, that is happening there, but it is all secondary. It is all dependent on intermediate sources, which will be people who are reporting or which will be cameras which are showing. Whichever way it is, we need intermediaries to be able to perceive, but God does not because God is Himself all-pervading and He has vision and knowledge of everything.
So, here Krishna, in the revelation of the Virat Rupa, is giving a provisional kind of omniscience. So, in the Virat Rupa, not exactly all the nitty-gritty details of the universe, but the who’s who of the universe, all the prominent people of the universe and actually, Krishna says that in this Virat Rupa, what He sees? Sacharacharam. Even all living beings are present.
Although you are in one place, you can see Krishna, whole universe and what you are seeing is My form. This is the extraordinary mercy that the Lord is giving to him. Now, here, it is described, next verse, Krishna tells Arjuna, now Arjuna is waiting.
Krishna is describing to Arjuna that see this form, but Arjuna is not able to see anything. Then Krishna says, actually, you can’t see with this. So, what you will read? Special eyes for this.
So, then Krishna here will give those eyes. It is not possible for you to see, Arjuna. No, it’s not possible.
So, actually, 11.4 was 11.4. If it is possible for me to see. And He says, actually, same word. Is it possible for me to see Me? Krishna tells, no, it’s not possible for you to see Me, but still, I will give you the proper word.
With the eyes that you have, you can’t see. Therefore, what I will do, that I will give you divine eyes. I will give you divine eyes.
And what is this? When He gives the eyes, He is telling now, just see My mystic opulence. Now, this is 11.8, where Krishna is using Pashyame Yogam Aishwaram. Where has He used earlier? 9.5. So, in 9.5b, He has used the word Pashyame Yogam Aishwaram.
Behold My mystical opulence. So, He has said that over there, Pashyame, see My mystical opulence. So, what is actually happening? There, it was more of, there, Pashya was not so much in terms of literal seeing, Pashya was in terms of understanding.
Sometimes when somebody makes a point, then we say, I see. Now, when I say, I see, what actually we mean is, I understand. So, or sometimes people say, do you see what I am saying? That means, not literally see, that is in terms of understanding.
So, do you understand what I am saying? So, the word see is also sometimes used for understanding. So, there in 9.5b, Pashyame Yogam Aishwaram, just see My mystical opulence. There, Krishna has not given any vision to Arjuna.
Krishna has given a description of how I sustain all living beings and still, I do not sustain all living beings. I am different from them. That is My mystical opulence.
So, it was in terms of a rhetorical expression to underscore a mysterious, to highlight a mysterious description. So, the mysterious description was, okay, this was, this is, I sustain all, I do not sustain all. How is this possible? This is My inconceivable potency.
This is My mystical potency. But here, Pashyame Yogam Aishwaram is not a rhetorical description. It is a literal instruction.
Just see now. So, now in this verse, Arjuna is being given eyes by Krishna. Now, when we say given eyes, you know, it is not like organ donation that is done today.
It is not like the person has to go into unconsciousness and you have to take out the eyes and then somebody else has to be a donor for the eyes and that person gives the eyes. So, people say give eyes like that. That is not the kind of eyes that Krishna is giving.
Actually, Krishna gives the power to see, power to see. So, Krishna is the Supreme Lord. And we have discussed this earlier also that how the universe is like a computer.
You know, it is like if you have a mainframe computer with a huge amount of information in it. And then within that, actually, there are different users who have different levels of access. So, some users have access only to preliminary data files.
Some users have access to even the code files and some users have access to everything. So, like that there are different levels of access. So, like that within the universe also, universe is like a computer with multiple levels of access and we human beings have a particular level of access within it.
Devatas have higher level of access and Krishna has complete access. So, now sometimes when a person is working on a computer, there may be a user who is like a child, another user like a parent. The parent says, now I will give you access.
And then suddenly all the files that were blocked, they were not even seen on the computer. Now suddenly you can see, oh, all these files are already there. So, like that, So, what is Krishna giving? When Krishna is giving eyes, that means it is not that some eyes are being sent through the fingers of Krishna and they are planting themselves over the eyes of Arjuna.
No, Krishna is giving access. Krishna is giving access to the higher realities that are there. And he is giving not just the access, the ability to access also.
So, I am giving you divine vision by which you can see. And when he describes this, at this point what happens? When he says this, so, Vishwachit Thakur describes something interesting over here. He says that the Virata Rupa is itself not spiritual.
It is also material because it is about the universe. Now, the universe itself is material. And so, therefore, even the Virata Rupa is material.
It is not a spiritual form. Now, by one definition, you could say that anything connected with Krishna, with the supreme spiritual reality is spiritual. That is fine.
That is from an applicational perspective. But from a compositional or constitutional perspective, there are certain things which are made of earth, water, fire, air, ether and certain things which are made up of Satchitananda. So, that difference of matter and spirit always remains true because it remains true.
So, it has to be understood. Things have to be understood from that perspective. So, Arjuna and the people around him, they are in human bodies and they have the normal human vision.
Then there is the pure devotional vision wherein one sees Krishna and one understands that Krishna is God who has concealed his divinity out of love. He has concealed his supreme power and supreme nature. He has become a charioteer for his devotee because he wants to reciprocate and relish love.
So, that is the divine intimate vision that Arjuna has. The other people over there… So, actually, those who are in maya, they think that he is just like another ordinary human being. That is normal human vision that people may have.
So, Arjuna does not have the normal human vision. He has a pure devotional vision. So, now for Arjuna, when Krishna is saying Divyam Dadami, actually that is a downgrading of vision, not upgrading of vision.
Why? Because he is at a spiritual level where he is seeing the Shamsundar form, the Parthasarathi form of Krishna, very intimate form and he is reciprocating with that form. So, for him to see the Virat Rupa is not actually upgrading, it is downgrading. And Prabhupada points to this point in a very extraordinary section in the Bhagavad Gita.
So, here such a bold statement Prabhupada makes. Devotees are correctly situated in loving features, not by a godless display of opulences. Now, just think about this.
God is displaying his opulences and Prabhupada is calling it as a godless display of opulences. Now, how can God’s display of opulences be called as a godless display of opulence? So, actually this is the vision of a devotee. A devotee is not interested in just a brute display of power.
I am so great. And actually even God is not interested in that. You know, Krishna in the spiritual world is not interested in everybody knowing, oh, I am God and all of you bow down to me.
And the eternal ritual that you have to do in the spiritual world is everybody keep coming in a sequence and keep bowing down to me, keep bowing down to me. And that is what all of you will have to do for eternity. Krishna is not a god like that.
That is not what Krishna is interested in. Krishna is interested in reciprocating love with his devotees. And for the sake of reciprocating love, he actually conceals his divinity.
But in some cases, for people to know the truth by which they can come out of illusion and come to reality, they can give up rebellion against him, they can give up forgetfulness of him and return back to connection with him, reunion with him. So, for that sake, Krishna sometimes asserts and displays his divinity. So, a devotee who already accepts Krishna’s supremacy, especially the Virat Rupa, it is very difficult to love the Virat Rupa.
We will see that Arjuna’s responses vary. First, he is amazed and he is awestruck. Then he is fearful and then he is overwhelmed with fear.
And then he just begs, who are you? Who are you? Please help me. Please tell me who you are. So, Arjuna goes through a whole gamut of emotions over there in his response to the darshan of the Virat Rupa.
But the point is that the Virat Rupa is not very easy to love. You cannot do Rasleela dance with the Virat Rupa. It is everywhere.
How will you dance? Or you cannot feed any food to the Virat Rupa. So, the Virat Rupa displays the opulences of God in terms of power and pervasion. Pervasion means that it pervades everything, exists everywhere.
But actually, it is not very conducive for intimate devotion. And that is what the devotee hungers for. The devotee wants loving reciprocation, intimate devotion for the Lord.
And this form is not very uncool for that. That is why Prabhupada is calling it as godless display of opulence. The devotee is not very much interested in that.
Now, Krishna is being requested this by Arjuna because Arjuna wants to set a standard for others and Krishna will oblige with this request. But Prabhupada quotes this well-known verse from the Bhagavatam 10, 12, 11, about how different people pursue God differently. Ittham satham brahma-sukhaan-bhutyaan daasyam gataanam paradhaay paradhaiva teena maya-suthaanam naradhaarakeena saakham vijaruh krita-punya-punjaan So, ittham satham.
Here is satham. satham is the truth. brahma-sukhaan-bhutyaan Here is that same being who is considered as the brahma-sukha who is considered as the impersonal brahman who experiences brahma-sukha by the satham, by the sages daasyam gataanam So, for those who are in the personal understanding and want to serve him, those who are his servants daasyam gataanam paradhaiva teena He is the transcendental God paradhaiva teena maya-suthaanam naradhaarakeena So, maya-suthaanam Those who have taken shelter of Those who are under the shelter of maya for them naradhaarakeena They think that he is just like an ordinary human being and saakham vijaruh krita-punya-punjaan saakham vijaruh That same absolute truth is playing with these gopas and the gopas, krita-punya-punjaan They must have acquired a treasury of punya They have extraordinary credits These are not ordinary punya These are bhakti-anmukha punya They must have extraordinary biassed devotional credits by which they are able to play with Krishna like this So, the point here of Prabhupada quoting this verse is that the Lord is pursued differently by different people but certain perceptions are favourable for devotion The viratrupa perception is not very favourable for intimate reciprocation So, those who want intimate reciprocation with the Lord For example, the gopas They are given The Lord places them in an arena where he manifests the intimate form and he reciprocates love with them So, Prabhupada goes on to say again that the devotee is not very interested in seeing viratrupa but for the sake of others he is asking So, now here in four verses Krishna has described what Arjuna is going to see So, first he says you will see thousands of forms hundreds and thousands of forms all variegated and second he says that oh you will see the various devatas and practically the whole universes who’s who in it and then he says you will get omniscience He says you know at one place you will see everything in the universe and you will see what you have not even asked for some of the things you have not even asked to see that is you will see in the future also and after describing that then he says ok I will give you the eyes to see So, now as this eyes to see is being given along with that there is a transformation that is happening in the setting of the battlefield also and that is reported by Sanjay So, sometimes when a movie is going on for the action to be properly conveyed the camera sometimes zooms closer and sometimes zooms further.
So, when two people are fighting hand to hand at that time to show the action the camera may focus on those two people but if a war is going on and in the overall direction of the war the camera may zoom backwards and say ok this party’s soldiers are moving forward this party’s soldiers are moving backwards So, the camera’s zoom comes close and goes back so as to give a complete perception of what is happening So, what is happening now is the camera’s zoom goes backwards So, here Krishna has described and before Arjuna’s description of what Arjuna is going to tell the camera zooms backwards and then Sanjay what he is seeing he describes Sanjay describes not only by this method what is achieved is that Arjuna’s Arjuna’s bodily reactions are also conveyed So, Arjuna is going to describe his thoughts and his emotions but his bodily reactions they are conveyed by Sanjay along with of course what is the vision that Krishna is revealing So, now the camera goes backwards till now the camera focus was on Krishna and Arjuna but now the camera goes backwards to Sanjay and Dhritarashtra and Sanjay starts speaking to Dhritarashtra So, having spoken thus So, here Rajan refers to Dhritarashtra, Sanjay is speaking after Krishna spoke thus and then to describe that what Krishna is going to do is not ordinary So, Arjuna has used the word Yogeshwar mystic powers. The point is that they are yogis, whereas Krishna is Yogeshwara and he has all mystic powers. So, Maha Yogeshwara Ohari.
So, he is quite capable of doing this mysterious thing of revealing the Virat Rupa. Darshayamasa Parthaya. Darshayam.
So, he reveals what? Parthaya. And to Partha, what does he reveal? Paramam Rupam Aishwaram. So, the same word Rupa Aishwarya.
That was in the request of Arjuna. He said, I want to see your opulent form. So, Darshayam.
Paramam Rupam Aishwaram. The Rupa Aishwarya. The opulent form, Paramam.
That is supreme, divine. That is his tone. So, now when Krishna, Arjuna speaks this.
Sorry, Sanjaya speaks this in the next verse. Sanjaya goes on to describe. So, here the camera is on Sanjaya and Sanjaya is saying, now he reveals the form.
Krishna has revealed the form. Now, what has he revealed? Sanjaya will tell what he is seeing. So, Aneka Vaktra Nayanam.
Aneka Vaktra Nayanam. There are, Vaktra is face, eye is Nayanam. Aneka Vaktra Nayanam.
There are many faces, many eyes. Aneka Adhbhuta Darshanam. There are many extraordinary visuals.
Aneka Divya Bharanam. So, there are many divine, there are actually, Adhbharanam is ornaments and garments. So, Divyanek Odyata Ayudham.
Ayudham is weapons. So, Ayudhana Maham Vajiram had come in the 10th chapter, that among weapons, I am Indra’s Thunderbolts. So, he is describing that not just one or two weapons like that.
There are many weapons. Aneka. The word Aneka normally means many.
The Acharya has described that actually here it refers to many, many. So many that they are almost like innumerable. There are many because Krishna has already said that Shatashotasahasrisha.
Hundreds and thousands you will be able to see. Divyanek Odyata Ayudham and then Divyamalyam Bharadharam. So, Abharanam was ornaments, Ambaradharam.
Now, it is a dress. So, there is garlands and dresses. Divyagandhanulepanam.
So, in Vedic culture, when a person is to be, when a person is honoured and adorned at that time, Gandha, sandalwood paste and other such things are applied. Divyagandhanulepanam. And then again the same word.
Sarvashcharyamayam Devam. So, Pashyashcharyanibharata. So, when Krishna had completed the description in 11.8, He says, Ascharyan.
It’s of amazing. The same word is used over here. So, Sarvashcharyamayam.
Actually, it’s filled with all. Mayam is filled with. Sarva is all.
It’s filled with all amazing things. Devam, this form of the Lord. Anantam Vishvatomukham.
Anantam. It’s unlimited. Vishvatomukham.
Vishvatomukham means, actually, it’s all-pervading. So, He is describing that. It’s extraordinary form He is saying.
What Krishna has said in the first verse. Pashyashcharyanibharata. That is the first thing.
When we see a person, we just look around and see the overall contour, isn’t it? Whether the person is tall or short, fat or thin. First impression of a person is the contour. So, when you see the contour, there are so many hands, so many faces, so many legs, and so many garments, so many ornaments, so many decorations, so many weapons.
Just see the contours and He says, it’s amazing. We’ve never seen anything like this before. And then after that, He describes.
Then when He sees the contour, then next thing He realises, oh, there’s such a effulgence. It’s very difficult to see this form only. So, then He describes the effulgence over there.
Divisurya sahasrasya bhaved yuga padh utthita, yadi bhasad rishi sahasyad, bhasastasya mahatmanah. Divisurya sahasrasya. So, Divisurya.
Divisurya is that there are, if there were, sahasrasya. So, sahasra, shat we have. Shat is hundred, sahasra is thousand.
So, bhaved yuga padh utthita. So, actually yuga padh, at the conjunction of yugas, one yuga and another yuga begins. So, at that time, it is said according to the Bhagavatam in the Vedic scripture that the sun’s effulgence becomes far greater.
That is, universe is going to be destroyed and one of the factors that triggers or accelerates the destruction of the universe in its due course of time is the increased temperature of the sun. So, bhaved yuga padh utthita. So, at the time of the yuga padh, at the turn of the yuga, when the universe is about to be destroyed, sun’s effulgence increases.
So, like that, if that super effulgent sun was there, it itself would be blinding and burning. But if there were Divisurya sahasrasya, if there are thousands of suns like this, like that, then that effulgence, yadi bhasadrshi sahasya, if such a thing were possible, then that would give some indication, bhasastasyamahatmanah. So, he is using the word Mahatma.
Till now, the word Mahatma has been used in Bhagavad Gita to describe the advanced transcendentalist. Here, the word Mahatma is used to refer to the Supreme Lord, to the Virat Rupa over here. Sanjay is using this.
So, such is the extraordinary effulgence of the Supreme Being, bhasastasyamahatmanah, yadi bhasadrshi sahasya. So, that is the extraordinary effulgence. Then what happens after that? Divisurya sahasrasya.
So, actually Prabhupada also explained the purport. And this is indescribable. Now, actually, when there are spiritual visions, often words are inadequate to describe them.
That does not mean that words are useless. But the reach of words is not as much as the scope of the experience. The vision and the experience are so extraordinary that words cannot reach them.
So, in such situations, when the words are used, they act as pointers. They are not describers, they are indicators. Vishwanath Chakradakar talks about this elaborately in his 10th Canto commentary, the Saradarshani, especially the 87th chapter, the parables of the personified yogas in the 10th Canto.
He describes that, actually, when we say that Krishna is like a bluish black complexioned youth, Krishna is a complexion like a bluish black rain cloud. So, normally, we may think about a youth, we may think of a bluish black cloud, and we combine the two and think, oh, this is what Krishna looks like. So, the concatenation, the combination of two mental images cannot invoke the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So, therefore, that is not exactly the Supreme Lord. That is a pointer towards the Supreme Lord. And when the Supreme Lord is perceived, that is when He reveals Himself.
When He reveals Himself, that’s when He is perceived. Till then, He is not perceived. So, when we try to meditate on the scriptural descriptions of how the Supreme Lord is, it is not that itself invokes the Supreme Lord.
By that, we do seva. By that, we serve the Supreme Lord by following the instructions given in the scriptures by Him and His devotees. This is how we should meditate on the Supreme Lord.
Eventually, when we will see the Supreme Lord, that vision will be far deeper, far richer than what we could ever have described. That’s why many Vaishnavacharyas have described how actually what we see is a very small, what we describe through words is not enough. There are Vaishnavacharyas who have sung that, I wrote choice poetry glorifying You and I thought I had glorified You very beautifully.
But now that I have seen You, my dear Lord, I have understood that all my glorification is like an insult. Because if we say that, if we glorify somebody as the, oh, You are the landlord of the whole village and if that person is actually the emperor of the whole country. Now, from the perspective of ordinary citizen, you are the landlord of the whole village.
That’s an impressive thing. But from the perspective of the reality of the position of the person being the emperor of the whole country, then it’s insignificant. So, that sort of glorification is actually a minimisation.
So, similarly, the word that we use to glorify the Lord, they are often inadequate to describe the glories of the Lord. So, they are not glorification, they may well be minimisation. But still, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t glorify.
A great saint, Tukaram Maharaj, he says that the swan can walk very elegantly. The swan may walk very elegantly and other birds cannot walk that elegantly. But that doesn’t mean other birds don’t have a right to walk and they can all walk.
So, like that, we can all glorify the Supreme Lord, although we may not be able to glorify in a elegant or eloquent way. And our glorification may not be adequate. It can never be adequate to describe the Supreme Lord’s glories.
But still, for His pleasure, for our purification and for communicating something to the world about the glories of the Lord, we try to speak His glories. Similarly, Prabhupada is saying that what is actually, that even this description that the super effulgence in thousands, that would describe the Bhasastasya Mahatma, the effulgence, that is also an indication, that is not a description. Then, what happens after this? tatra ekastham jagat krishnam pravibhaktam anekadha apashyat deva devasya sharire pandavas tada tatra ekastham So, again, the ihaikastham it was earlier.
When Krishna was telling Arjuna in 11.7, ihaikastham. So, Krishna and Arjuna are on the battlefield. Therefore, see, at here, at this one place, you can see everything.
Now, when Sanjay and Sitarashtra are describing, they are discussing, from Sanjay’s perspective, Sanjay is at the palace with Sitarashtra in Hastinapur and the battle is going on at Kurukshetra. Therefore, he is saying tatra. tatra ekastham jagat krishnam.
So, from that one place, the whole universe was seen. pravibhaktam anekadha. So, pravibhaktam means divided into many details.
Vibhaktam is separated, divided. apashyat deva devasyam. So, in that apashyat, Arjuna saw, deva devasya sharire, in that lord who is the god of the gods, the supreme god, in his body.
So, now the body word does not necessarily have to mean material body. It can be a transcendental body also. So, but in the form of the lord, pandavas tada.
So, at that time, the Pandava, Arjuna saw that. So, from the point of view of Sitarashtra, all of them are sons of Pandu. They are not his sons.
So, that particular sentiment is there. And that is underscored by the word pandava. So, vismaya.
Vismaya means amazement, astonishment. So, vismaya avishto. He was not just amazed, but he was overwhelmed by amazement.
And rishta roma dhananjaya. So, rishta roma. Rishta means to rise.
Roma is the hair. So, the hair on his body stood up. Dhananjaya says, pranam ashirasa devam.
Then he bowed down. He bowed his head down and then, krutanjali. He says, folded his hands forward.
So, Arjuna starts speaking over here. So, Arjuna has become reverential. Krishna was asked by Arjuna, please show me this form.
And he starts seeing the form. So, now as the form moves, as this revelation goes on, what will happen is that Arjuna is able to see this form and then he is not able to see Krishna at all. Later on, we will see that.
He just sees this universal form and he gets overwhelmed by seeing this universal form. But when he sees this universal form, he starts offering. He first offers.
He bows his head down, folds his hand and then he starts speaking now. So, what has happened? Arjuna is overwhelmed. There is an emotional reaction and there is a physical reaction.
So, the physical reaction that is described is rishta roma. Rishta roma is that his hair has stood up. And the emotional reaction is that vismaya vishta.
He is overwhelmed by astonishment. And then he starts speaking. So, now Prabhupada explains, this is not because of fear.
It is because of wonder. Now, let us see what Arjuna starts speaking. Now, from here onwards, if you go back to the overview, 50 to 31 is Arjuna’s description of the universal form.
So, 9 to 14 was Sanjay describing. So, let us see what Arjuna describes now. Now, going back, what has Sanjay described till now? Sanjay, if we look at this description, Krishna’s description is the briefest.
It is actually only three verses and fourth verse is saying that, okay, I will give the eyes by which you can see. Then Sanjay’s description is slightly longer. It is totally five verses, out of which the fifth verse is describing Arjuna’s reaction.
So, in Krishna’s description, the point was, okay, you will see many forms, and then you will see all the devatas and then you will see everything at one place. And now, Krishna is going to reveal. So, he also says, you will also be able to see some things which you are not even asked to see.
And Sanjay is describing, Sanjay does not know that Krishna is going to see something, Krishna is going to reveal something. He does not know. So, what does Sanjay’s description contain? First, he says that actually he is Mahayogeshwarohari and he revealed the form.
And then he says, he underscores the point that, there are so many faces, so many hands, so many ornaments, so many weapons. So, what Krishna has said in Fayum, Sanjay has elaborated in two verses, in 10 and 11. And then, 12, 13, 14, how is it going? 14 is the description of the reaction of Arjuna.
What happened to Arjuna when he saw that form? And before that, 12 was? So, when this whole thing was displayed, Sanjay added one more metaphor, that is, Divisuryasahasya. And actually, thousands of suns were there. That was not there in Krishna’s description.
So, Sanjay is giving that to give an indication of what it was like. And then after that, in the next verse also he says, again he makes a second point, tatraekastham. There is one place and one place everything is seen.
So, in Sanjay’s description, there is no mention of the point of Ashwina, Rudra and all that. That is, Sanjay is just giving a quick overview. He is not going into details.
And the details will be described by Arjuna when he is describing the universal form. And actually, when Arjuna is describing, the description will suddenly change into glorification. And the glorification will change into offering of obeisances.
And offering of obeisances will change into prayers. So, this is how the description will evolve. But let us start with the description now.
So, when he describes here, Arjuna, So, several times Krishna has told Arjuna, see, see. So, now Arjuna is saying, yes, I do see. So, devams is a plural word.
So, here devams refers to the devtas. So, actually the same word is being used in one sense to refer to the Supreme Lord also. So, that deva refers to the Supreme Lord.
And dehe is the form. So, in your form, what am I seeing? In your form, I am seeing many, many forms. So, I am seeing many, many forms over here.
And as I see all these various forms, all different kinds of living beings. And he is describing right from the top of the universe to the bottom of the universe. So, as we know, Brahmaji is situated on a lotus flower.
So, Kamalasana has an asana of Kamala. He is also one of the controllers of the universe. And as he is moving forward downwards from the description of the universal cosmology, okay, Brahmaji is at the top.
And then after that, he is describing Rishis. So, from the top of the universe where Brahma is there, from there Rishis are there below. And then Urgams.
So, Urgams refer to serpents, divine serpents. It actually refers to the whole universe which is having one vision. At the bottom of the universe, there are the celestial serpent, there is Sheshnag.
And there are the various kinds of other serpents, Vasuki and all that. But Sheshnag is at the bottom. So, right from the top to the bottom, everything is seeing.
And he is Pashyami Devams. I am seeing all this, O Krishna. So, the first thing that Arjuna describes is the sheer scope, right from the top of the universe to the bottom of the universe he sees.
And then, so, Arjuna is confirming here what Krishna had said, Ihaikastam jagat krishnam, from one place you will see the whole universe. So, indeed, Arjuna is confirming, yes, I am able to see. And then he goes on and describes again what he is seeing, aneka, many, many things.
Aneka, as we discussed earlier, is not just many, it’s so many that we can’t number it. Bahu is arms. Udara is the bellies.
Vaktra, face. Netram is eyes. Aneka bahu udara vaktra netram.
Pashyami. So, the word Pashyami comes twice in this verse. Second line and the fourth line.
Pashyami tvam sarvato anantarupam. Sarvato, everywhere I am seeing. Anantarupam, your form is unlimited, my dear Lord, when I am seeing it.
And to emphasise unlimited, what does it say? Nantam na madhyam na punastavadim. That, actually, when you start looking, you know, just look, look, look from this end to that and there is no end only. There is no end, there is no beginning.
Sometimes, somebody is trapped in the ocean. You look in all directions, wherever we see, you see water only. Water, water, water.
Everywhere. Just don’t know what to do. Where does the water begin? Where does it end? Where is the middle? Now, if you know, okay, this much is a, this is a lake, then you can understand, this is a lake, one side is lake, another side is the centre.
But it’s so big that we just don’t have any reference point left only. It’s saying, nantam na madhyam na punastavadim. I can’t see anything related there.
And then I understand, so what am I seeing? Pashyami vishveshwara vishvarupa. So, this is the first and the only reference specifically by the word vishvarupa to what, to the vision that Arjuna is having. The chapter is called as vishvarupa darshan.
Generally, that’s the word that is used. We’ll discuss in our next class about what is the, what are the various kinds of vishvarupas and what is referred to over there. But here the important point is that he uses this word.
He uses two words over here, vishveshwara and vishvarupa. So, vishveshwara refers to the lord of the vishwa. And then you have a form.
So, my dear lord, you who are the controller of the universe, you have a form which pervades the whole universe. And that is the form that you are revealing to me. So, vishveshwara vishvarupa.
So, Kunti Maharani also in one of her prayers to Lord Krishna, she says, atha vishvesha vishvatman vishvamurthesvakeshvame. So, she says, she describes the Lord in three ways. You are over the, you are above the universe as its controller, atha vishvesha.
But you are inside the universe also as a vishvatman. You are transcendental as the Ishvara. You are immanent as the embodied, as an indwelling supreme being.
And then you are the vishvamurthe. You are yourself the vishvarupa also. So, actually, in that sense, Krishna is inside the universe, Krishna is the universe and Krishna is outside the universe also.
So, here Arjuna is talking about two aspects of it. He is saying that you are the Lord of the universe and you are also manifesting the universal form. I am seeing this, O Lord.
And so now, what happens as Arjuna further describes in this vision and then how Arjuna’s vision and emotion change as he sees more and more things,