Bhagavatgita a detailed study- chapter 11The Cosmic Form

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Sreebhagavaan uvaacha

 

 

47. mayaa prasannena thava arjuna idham

 

roopam param dharSitham aathmayogaath

 

thejomayam viSvam anantham aadhyam

 

yath me thvadhanyena na dhrshtapoorvam

 

The Lord said,

 

Pleased with you, oh Arjuna, this supreme form was shown by Me through my yogic power which was brilliant, universal, infinite and primeval and not seen before by anyone except you.

 

What Krishna means by saying that none but Arjuna has seen this for before is that none in the same category as Arjuna has seen it. Arjuna was not a self-realized yogi but an ordinary man standing at the battlefield with a mind riddled with doubts and delusion. The presentation of the cosmic form was not to give him brahmajnana but only to show him the magnificence and mighty power of the Lord so that Arjuna would trust Him fully and would do His bidding.

 

48. na vedha yajnaaDhyayanaiH na dhaanaiH

 

na cha kriyaabhih na thapobhiH ucChaiH

 

evam roopaH SakyaH aham nrloke

 

dhrashtum thvadhanyena kurupraveera

 

I am not to be seen in this form by anyone through learning the Vedas, doing sacrifices, or meditation or by performing acts of charity or by any ritual or severe penance, except by you, Oh the prominent among kurus,

 

The Lord says that due to affection for Arjuna He has shown the cosmic form which could not be seen easily. As the upanishad says

 

naayam aathmaa pravachanena labhyaH

na meDhyaa na bahunaa Sruthena

yamaivesha vrNuthe thena labhyaH

thasya esha aathmaa vivrNuthe thanum svaam

 

The Brahman, the Lord, cannot be known through learning nor through intellect nor through listening about Him. He could be known only by the one whom He chooses. To him the Lord reveals His form. This sloka is the reflection of the above upanidhadic declaration and further Krishna emphasizes the importance of bhakthi in a later sloka in the chapter where He reiterates the above statement.

 

The implication is that Arjuna need have no fear and should have felt only joy on being singled out by the Lord to show His cosmic form

 

 

49.maathe vyaThaa maa cha vimooDabhaavaH

 

dhrshtvaa roopam ghoram eedhrk mamaidham

 

vyapethabheeH preethamanaaH punaH thvam

 

thadheva me roopam idham prapaSya

 

May you not have any fear or bewilderment on seeing this fierce form of Mine and dispelling fear and with gladdened heart you see the same form you wanted.

 

But seeing that Arjuna was not mentally prepared to withstand the magnificence and grandeur of the cosmic form, Krishna takes pity on him and resumes His normal form as the Lord Narayana with four arms and it is known from the words of Sanjaya in the next sloka that Krishna then became his normal self as krishnavasudeva.

 

sanjaya uvaacha

 

50. ithyarjunam vaasudhevaH thaThaa ukthvaa

 

svakam roopam dharSayaamaasa bhooyaH

 

aaSvaasdayaamaasacha bheetham enam

 

bhoothvaa punaH soumyavapuH mahaathmaa

 

sanjaya said,

 

Saying thus to Arjuna, Vasudeva showed His own form and the Lord pacified him, who was frightened , by becoming His gentle form once again.

 

Sanjaya told Dhrtharashtra that Krishna resumed his human form as Krisnavasudeva after showing His own form as Narayana to Arjuna and pacified him, After this Sanjaya speaks only at the end in the eighteenth chapter to end the narration.