Chapter
11 - The Yoga of the Vision of the
Universal Form
Arjun
said:
Thanks
to the most profound words of spiritual
wisdom that You have spoken out of
kindness to me, this delusion of mine has
entirely disappeared. (11.01)
O
Krsn, I have heard from You in detail an
account of the evolution and dissolution
of beings and also Your immortal glory.
(11.02)
O
Lord, You are precisely what You declare
Yourself to be. But I long to see Your
divine form (possessed of wisdom, glory,
energy, strength, valour and effulgence),
O best of persons! (11.03)
Krsn,
If you think that it can be seen by me,
then O Lord of Yoga, reveal to me Your
impersihable form. (11.04)
The
Blessed Sri Krsn said:
Arjun,
behold presently in hundreds and thousands
My multifarious divine forms of various
colors and shapes. Behold in Me, O Arjun,
the twelve sons of Aditi, the eight Vasus,
the eleven Rudrs (gods of destruction),
the two Asvinikumars (the twin born
physicians of gods) and, the forty-nine
Maruts (wind-gods) and witness many more
wonderful forms never seen before.
(11.05-06)
O
Arjun, behold as concentrated within this
body of Mine the entire creation
consisting of both animate and inanimate
beings, and whatever else you desire to
see. (11.07)
But
surely you cannot see Me with these human
eyes of yours, therefore I vouchsafe to
you the divine eye. With this you behold
My divine power of Yoga. (11.08)
Sanjay
said:
My
Lord! Having spoken thus, Sri Krsn, the
Supreme Master of Yoga, forthwith revealed
to Arjun His supremely glorious divine
Form. (11.09)
Arjun
saw the supreme Deity possessing many
mouths and eyes, presenting many a
wonderful sight, decked with many divine
ornaments, wielding many uplifted divine
weapons, wearing divine garlands and
clothes, besmeared all over with divine
sandal pastes, full of all wonders,
infinite and having faces all sides. If
there be the effulgence of a thousand suns
bursting forth all at once in the heavens,
even that would hardly approach the
splendor of the mighty Lord. (11.10 - 12)
Then
Arjun, in the body of the God of gods, saw
the whole universe with its many fold
divisions drawn together into one. (11.13)
Then
Arjun, struck with wonder, his hair
standing on end, bowed his head to the
divine Lord and with joined palms
addressed Him thus. (11.14)
Arjun
said:
O
Lord, I see in Your body all the gods and
multitude of different beings; Brahma
seated on his lotu-seat, Shiva, all the
sages and celestial serpents. (11.15)
O
Lord of the universe, I behold you,
infinite in forms on all sides with
numerous arms, bellies, faces and eyes. O
Universal Form, I see neither Your
beginning nor middle nor end. (11.16)
I
see You with diadem, club and discus; a
mass of splendor radiance all around,
having a brilliance like that of blazing
fire and sun, dazzling and immeasurable on
all sides. (11.17)
You
are the Imperishable, the Supreme Being to
be realized; you are the ultimate resort
of this universe; You are the protector of
the eternal Dharma (Duty and
Righteousness) and You are the eternal
imperishable Being - I deem. (11.18)
I
see you without beginning, middle or end,
infinite in power, of infinite arms, the
sun and the moon being your eyes, the
blazing fire Your mouth; scorching the
universe with Your radiance. (11.19)
The
space between heaven and earth and all the
quarters are filled by You alone. Seeing
this marvellous and terrible form of
yours', O Great Soul - the three worlds
feel greatly alarmed. (11.20)
Those
hosts of gods are entering in You; some in
awe with palms joined are chanting Your
names and glories; bands of great sages
and siddhas (emancipated souls) pronounce
"May it be well" and praise You
with excellent hymns. (11.21)
The
eleven Rudrs, twelve Adityas, eight Vasus,
twelve Sadhyas, ten Vishvedevas, two
Ashvins, forty-nine Maruts, manes, host of
Gandharvas, Yaksas, Asuras, and Siddhas -
they are all gazing at you in amazement.
(11.22)
Lord,
seeing this stupendous an dreadful Form of
Yours possessing numerous mouths and eyes,
many arms, thighs and feet, many bellies
and many teeth, the worlds are terror
struck; so am I. (11.23)
Lord,
seeing Your great effulgent and
multi-colored Form touching the heavens;
having Your mouth wide open and possessing
large flaming eyes; I , with my inmost
self frightened, have lost self-control
and find no peace. (11.24)
Seeing
Your faces frightful on account of their
teeth, and flaring like the fire at the
time of universal destruction, I am
utterly bewildered and find no happiness;
therefore, be kind to me, O Lord of
celestials and Resting-place of the
universe. (11.25)
All
those sons of Dhrtrashtr with hosts of
kings are entering You. Bhishm, Drona and
yonder Karn, with the principal warriors
on our side as well, are rushing headlong
into Your fearful mouths looking all the
more terrible on account of their teeth;
some are seen stuck up in the gaps between
Your teeth with their heads crushed.
(11.26 - 27)
As
the myriad streams of rivers rush towards
the sea lone, so do those warriors of the
mortal world enter your flaming mouths.
(11.28)
As
moths rush with great speed into the
blazing flame for Extinction out of their
folly, even so all these people are with
great rapidity entering Your mouths to
meet their doom. (11.29)
Swallowing
through your blazing mouths, You are
licking all those people on all sides.
Lord, Your terrible splendor are burning
the entire universe, filling it with
radiance. (11.30)
Tell
me who are You in such a fierce form? My
salutations to You, O best of gods, be
merciful and kind to me, I wish to
understand You, the Primal Being, because
I do not know Your purpose. (11.31)
The
Blessed Sri Krsn said:
I
am inflamed Kala (the eternal
Time-spirit), the destroyer of the worlds.
I am out to exterminate these people. Even
without you all those warriors arrayed in
the enemy's camp must die. (11.32)
Therefore,
do you arise and win glory; conquering
foes, enjoying the affluent kingdom. These
warriors stand already slain by Me; be you
only an instrument, Arjun. (11.33)
Do
you kill Drona, Bhishm, Jayadratha and
Karna, and even other brave warriors; who
stand already killed by Me. Do not fear.
You will certainly conquer the enemies in
the battle, therefore, fight! (11.34)
Sanjay
said:
Having
heard these words of Krsn; Arjun,
tremblingly bowed to Him with joined
palms, and bowing again in extreme terror
spoke to Sri Krsn in faltering accents.
(11.35)
Arjun
said:
Lord,
well it is, the universe exults and is
filled with Love by chanting Your names,
virtues and glory; terrified Raksasas are
fleeting in all direction, and all the
hosts of Siddhas are bowing to You.
(11.36)
O
Great Soul, why should they no bow to You,
who are the progenitor of Brahma himself
and the greatest of the great? O Infinite
Lord of Celestials, Abode of the universe,
You are that which is existent (Sat) and
that which is non-existent (Asat) and also
that which is beyond both, viz, the
indestructible Brahma, (11.37)
You
are the primal Deity, the most ancient
Person; You are the ultimate resort of
this universe. You are both the knower and
the knowable, the highest abode. It is You
who pervade the universe, assuming endless
forms. You are Vayu (the wind god), Yama
(the god of death), Agni (the fire god),
Varun (the god of water), Brahma (the Lord
of Creation), nay, the father of Brahma
himself. Hail, Hail, to You a thousand
times; Salutations, Repeated Salutations
to You once again. (11.38 - 39)
O
Lord of infinte prowess, My salutations to
You from before and from behind. O Soul of
all, My obeisance to You from all sides
indeed. You, who possess limitless might,
pervade all; therefore You are all.
(11.40)
The
way in which I have importunately called
out, either through intimacy or even
through want of thought, "Ho Krsn! Ho
Yadav! Ho Comrade!" and so on,
suspecting you only to be a friend, and
the way in which You have been slighted by
in jest, O sinless one, while at play,
reposing, sitting or at meals either alone
or even in the presence of others - for
all that I crave forgiveness from You, who
are infinite. (11.41 - 42)
You
are the Father, nay, the greatest teacher
of this moving and unmoving creation, and
worthy of adoration. O Lord of
incomparable might, in all three worlds
there is none else even equal to You; how,
then, any better? (11.43)
Therefore,
O adorable Lord, prostrating my body at
Your feet and bowing low I seek to
propitiate You, the ruler of all and
worthy of all praise. It behooves You to
bear with me even as a father bears with
his son, a friend with his friend and a
husband with his beloved spouse. (11.44)
Having
seen Your wondrous from, which was never
seen before, I feel transported with joy;
at the same time my mind is tormented be
fear. Pray reveal to me that divine form;
the form of Visnu with four arms; O Lord
of celestials, Abode of the Universe, be
Gracious, I wish to see You adorned in the
same way with a diadem on the head, and
holding a mace and a discus in two of Your
hands. O Lord with a thousand arms, O
Universal Being, appear again in the same
four-armed Form. (11.45 - 46)
The
Blessed Sri Krsn said:
O
Arjun, being pleased with you I have shown
you, through My own power of Yoga, this
supreme, effulgent, primal and infinite
Cosmic Body, which was never seen before
by anyone else than you. (11.47)
Arjun,
in this mortal world I cannot be seen in
the Form by anyone else that you, either
through study of the Vedas or of rituals,
or again through gifts, actions or austere
penances. (11.48)
Seeing
such a dreadful Form of Mine as this, be
not perturbed or perplexed; with a
fearless and complacent mind, behold once
again the same four armed Form of Mine.
(11.49)
Sanjay
said:
Lord
Krsn, having thus spoken to Arjun,
revealed His four-armed form and then
assuming His gentle human form, the
highsouled Sri Krsn consoled the
frightened Arjun. (11.50)
Arjun
said:
O
Krsn, seeing this gentle human form of
Yours, I have regained my composure and am
myself again. (11.51)
The
Blessed Sri Krsn said:
This
form of Mine (with four arms) which you
have just seen is exceedingly difficult to
perceive. Even the gods are always eager
to behold this form. (11.52)
Neither
by study of the Vedas, nor by penance, nor
again by charity, nor even by ritual, can
I be seen in this form as you have seen
Me. (11.53)
Through
single-minded devotion, however, I can be
seen in this form (with four arms), nay,
know in essence and even entered into, O
valiant Arjun. (11.54)
Arjun,
he who performs all his duties for My
sake, depends on Me, is devoted to Me; has
no attachment, and free from malice
towards all beings, reaches Me. (11.55)
Thus
with the utterance of Om, Tat, Sat, the
name of the Lord, in the Upanisad of the
Bhagawad Gita, the knowledge of Brahman,
the Supreme, the science of Yoga and the
dialogue between Sri Krsn and Arjun, this
is the eleventh discourse designated:
"The Yoga of the Vision of the Cosmic
Form"
Swami Veet Chintan T'Zorba-Krsna
Jyotish
Shastracharya
& Vedic Astrologer of India
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