​Gita 11.05 – The many forms within the one form – variety manifests within divinity

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thank you here Krishna responds to Arjuna's request which he had made in the previous verse saying that Krishna if it is possible please show me your universal form your magnificence your opulence in a majestic form a pervading universe please show that to me and Arjuna Krishna responds Arjuna you wanted to see please say it Arjuna see this form Rupani Rupani is plural so it's one form but the one form contains many forms it is not just when we use the word form it can mean many different things for example if there is a giant screen in a movie theatre now that screen may have a particular form most screens have the form of a rectangle so now within that rectangle form of the screen there may be many different forms there may be a if a battle is being depicted in the movie then from one side there may be an army which is coming on horses so there are many horses many warriors other side there is an army which is coming on elephants so there are many elephants and many warriors on the elephants so within the one form there can be many forms so Krishna is using the word plural over here Rupani so like that Arjuna asked to see one form but the one universal form contains many many forms so that is what Arjuna is referring to so what all will he see in that one form he is saying Rupani many forms hundred or even thousands so the idea of saying hundreds and thousands is that it is such a large number that initially when we see something very big oh is this hundreds of things or when we get a further sensation oh no they are thousands this is huge there are many different of different kinds and they are divine they are transcendental Nanavarna Varna is color Akruti is shapes so see within this many different forms many different colors many different shapes so normally the visual perception that we have of things these are the different things which we see within it when we see an object with our eyes we see its shape we see its color then we see its motion or lack of motion so similarly here Krishna tells Arjuna that you wanted to see my universal form here it is and here within the vision that he is having there are many different shapes many different colors Manavarna Akruti nature there are many different colors there are many different shapes and how many are they hundreds and thousands and they are of various different kinds so what all those forms are will be pointed to in the next verse by Krishna when he says gives a list of some of the who's who in the universe and tells that they are all assembled within the universal form but in this verse its stressing on the massiveness and the multitudinousness of the vision that is manifested in one sense here we see that Krishna responds to Arjuna's request promptly Arjuna has asked very humbly that my dear lord if you think it is possible for me then please let me see this form and Krishna replies Arjuna Arjuna just see this form so Krishna affirms not by saying anything affirmative but directly by starting off revealing the form so if you see Krishna is Krishna is assenting to Arjuna's request in the previous chapter also when Arjuna asks Krishna my dear lord in this world how can I meditate on you in what all forms can I meditate on you and there what does Krishna, what does Arjuna reply Krishna also immediately starts off but then he expresses delight oh yes definitely Arjuna with pleasure yes Arjuna will describe my vibhutis to you but I will describe them in brief because there is no end to these vibhutis there is no end therefore I will describe the vibhutis in brief to you so here if you see if you look broadly at the way Krishna responds to Arjuna's request or Arjuna's questions there is especially where Krishna Arjuna is asking Krishna to do something so to speak something to clarify something so overall Krishna answers promptly and Krishna answers clearly and usually the answer is affirmative its enquiry and Krishna answers it even when Arjuna expresses apprehension or hesitation about something that Krishna is speaking or recommending as happens in the 4th or the 5th chapter 4th or the 6th chapters we see there also in the 4th chapter Arjuna asks Krishna Krishna the sun god is older than you so how could you have instructed him so Krishna answers promptly by saying that yes we have both gone through many lives I remember you don't remember and in the 6th chapter when Krishna is asked by Arjuna that actually there is no question directly but there is just a concern raised that you know this process of yoga which you are telling is not very practical yo-yo-yoga-sri-yagya-ukta-samyena-mudhusudana ekasyaham kashyami-canchal-atva-sitim-sthiram so in response to that question Krishna replies in an understanding but a firm tone he says yes I know Arjuna yes Arjuna it is difficult I understand it is difficult but it is possible if we persevere so by abhyasana you will be able to do this and therefore you should persevere so overall the question answers between Krishna and Arjuna are very clear and immediate answers come up and here also in that same mood Arjuna asks Krishna yes Arjuna see this so hundreds and thousands so it is when a word like hundreds and thousands is used it means it is a very large number and what is large over here so many forms over there so actually there are many devatas there are many celestial beings not just devatas you will see that even the serpents who exist at the bottom of the universe they are also in the universal form so here Krishna is telling Arjuna I want to reveal this majestic form to you which will contain many many forms almost innumerable forms and it has so much variety and it has so much variety so what we understand is that variety is a feature within divinity as in the universal form is being revealed it is one form but one form contains many forms and thus variety is a feature within divinity of course this is true at the spiritual level ultimately where Krishna manifests his variety in the spiritual world with all the various devotees having their own distinct individuality and he having various kinds of relationships and spiritual world also having eternal variegatedness but that is not just in the spiritual world even in the material world there is variety and that variety is revealed to be present within the divinity that is manifested as the universal form.