The Bhagavad Gita · 3 of 4 · tr. Kashinath Trimbak Telang
Chapter XI, Section 1c
O infinite lord of gods!
O you pervading the universe!
you are the indestructible, that which is, that which is not, and what is beyond them .
You are the primal god, the ancient being, you are the highest support of this universe .
You are that which has knowledge, that which is the object of knowledge, you are the highest goal.
By you is this universe pervaded., O you of infinite forms!
You are the wind, Yama, fire, Varu n a, the moon, you Pra g âpati, and the great grandsire .
Obeisance be to thee a thousand times, and again and again obeisance to thee!
In front and from behind obeisance to thee!
Obeisance be to thee from all sides, O you who are all!
You are of infinite power, of unmeasured glory; you pervade all, and therefore you are all!
Whatever I have said contemptuously,--for instance, 'O K ri sh n a!' 'O Yâdava!' 'O friend!'--thinking you to be (my) friend, and not knowing your greatness (as shown in) this (universal form), or through friendliness, or incautiously; and whatever disrespect I have shown you for purposes of merriment, on (occasions of) play, sleep, dinner, or sitting (together), whether alone or in the presence (of friends),--for all that, O undegraded one!
I ask pardon of you who are indefinable .
You are the father of the world-movable and immovable,--you its great and venerable master; there is none equal to you, whence can there be one greater, O you whose power is unparalleled in all the three worlds?
Therefore I bow and prostrate myself, and would propitiate you, the praiseworthy lord.
Be pleased, [paragraph continues] O god!
to pardon (my guilt) as a father (that of his) son, a friend (that of his) friend, or a husband (that of his) beloved.
I am delighted at seeing what I had never seen before, and my heart is also alarmed by fear.
Show me that same form, O god!
Be gracious, O lord of gods!
O you pervading the universe!
I wish to see you bearing the coronet and the mace, with the discus in hand, just the same (as before) .
O you of thousand arms!
O you of all forms!
assume that same four-handed form.
The Deity said: O Ar g una!
being pleased (with you), I have by my own mystic power shown you this supreme form, full of glory, universal, infinite, primeval, and which has not been seen before by any one else but you, O you hero among the Kauravas!
I cannot be seen in this form by any one but you, (even) by (the help of) the study of the Vedas, or of sacrifices, nor by gifts, nor by actions, nor by fierce penances.
Be not alarmed, be not perplexed, at seeing this form of mine, fearful like this.
Free from fear and with delighted heart, see now again that same form of mine.
Sañ g aya said: Having thus spoken to Ar g una, Vâsudeva again showed his own form, and the high-souled one becoming again of a mild form, comforted him who had been affrighted.
Ar g una said: O G anardana!
seeing this mild, human form of yours, I am new in my right mind, and have come to my normal state.
The Deity said: Even the gods are always desiring to see this form of mine, which it is difficult to get a sight of, and which you have seen.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
Krishna is described as 'indefinable' and as that which is 'that which is, that which is not, and what is beyond them,' utilizing negation to describe the divine nature.
All passages →Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
Krishna states that even the gods desire to see this form but cannot, highlighting the radical concealment of the divine fullness from ordinary perception.
All passages →Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The text emphasizes that this supreme form cannot be seen through study, sacrifice, or penance, but only through the deity's grace and direct vision granted to Arjuna.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The deity is portrayed as a personal, responsive reality who speaks, grants visions, accepts apologies, and changes form in response to the devotee's plea.
All passages →Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
Arjuna offers repeated obeisances, asks for pardon, and petitions the deity to show his mild form, constituting a direct address to the divine.
All passages →Shapeshifting Transformationtheology
Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. Loki and Odin's transformations in Norse, Math's pigs and Blodeuwedd's owl-shape and Pwyll's exchange with Arawn in the Mabinogion, the Greek Proteus, the Indian dasavatara, Vainamoinen's bird-flight in the Kalevala, Ovid's metamorphoses, the shamanic and witch's capacity for ritual form-change. Distinct from anthropomorphism (divine taking specific human form, single embodiment) in that anthropomorphism establishes a stable form whereas this concept establishes form's plurality and instability.
The passage centers on Krishna revealing a terrifying universal form (Vishvarupa) and then reverting to his mild human form at Arjuna's request, explicitly demonstrating divine form-mutability.
All passages →Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
Krishna declares himself to be the pervader of the universe, the wind, fire, moon, and all gods, stating 'you are all' and that he is both the subject and object of knowledge.
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