Chapter 11: The Vision of the Universal Form

📘 Editorial Note:

As the divine conversation between Krishna and Arjuna deepens, Arjuna—his heart filled with awe and reverence—longs for a direct experience of the Supreme. Though he has heard Lord Krishna’s declarations of divinity, he desires to see, with his own eyes, the cosmic form of God that transcends all earthly limitations.

Responding to this heartfelt plea, Lord Krishna bestows upon Arjuna divine vision—a celestial eye beyond the reach of ordinary perception. With that sacred sight, Arjuna beholds a vision so magnificent, so overwhelming, that words fall short. The Lord reveals Himself in His Vishwarupa, the Universal Form, a radiant and infinite embodiment of all creation.

In this form, countless faces, arms, and eyes stretch across the heavens. Suns and moons shimmer within His body, and the entire cosmos appears to revolve around Him. All gods, sages, and celestial beings reside in Him; time, death, birth, and all the cycles of existence flow from Him and return to Him. The battlefield fades, and Arjuna stands in the presence of the timeless, all-encompassing Supreme Reality.

Arjuna is both awed and terrified, witnessing not only the sublime beauty but also the fierce power of Krishna’s universal aspect. He sees warriors and kings—destined to fall—being devoured by the Lord’s blazing mouths, and realizes that the outcome of the war is already ordained by the divine will. Krishna tells him, “I am Time, the destroyer of worlds,” revealing the inexorable force that governs all life and death.

In the midst of this overwhelming revelation, Arjuna humbly bows down and offers prayers of surrender, acknowledging Krishna not just as a friend or charioteer, but as the Supreme Lord of all universes—the timeless origin, the eternal refuge, the imperishable truth.

Yet, even as the cosmic form radiates divine majesty, Krishna gently reassures Arjuna and returns to His original, all-attractive, human-like form—the beautiful, compassionate form of Shri Krishna, who walks among men yet remains untouched by the world. Krishna explains that this form is the most intimate and original manifestation of the Divine, accessible only through unwavering devotion.

He declares that neither study of the scriptures, nor rituals, nor severe austerities can grant access to this divine form. Only through bhakti—pure, selfless love and surrender—can one truly know and behold the Lord in His eternal beauty.

Thus, Chapter 11 is both a vision and a teaching. It reminds us that behind the veil of appearances lies an eternal presence—the Supreme Person who lovingly guides, sustains, and dwells within all beings. And though He encompasses all, He longs to be known not in fear, but in love.

🔹 Original Chapter Text:

Arjuna said:

SLOKA 1

By the supremely profound words, on the discrimination of Self, that have been spoken by Thee out of compassion towards me, this my delusion is gone.

SLOKA 2

Of Thee, O lotus-eyed, I have heard at length, of the origin and dissolution of beings, as also Thy inexhaustible greatness.

SLOKA 3

So it is, O Lord Supreme! as Thou hast declared Thyself. (Still) I desire to see Thy Ishvara-Form, O Purusha Supreme. 3

SLOKA 4

If, O Lord, Thou thinkest me capable of seeing it, then, O Lord of Yogis, show me Thy immutable Self.

The Blessed Lord said:

SLOKA 5

Behold, O son of Prithâ, by hundreds and thousands, My different forms celestial, of various colours and shapes.

SLOKA 6

Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin Ashvins, and the Maruts; behold, O descendant of Bharata, many wonders never seen before.

SLOKA 7

See now, O Gudâkesha, in this My body, the whole universe centred in one,—including the moving and the unmoving,—and all else that thou desirest to see. 7

SLOKA 8

But thou canst not see Me with these eyes of thine; I give thee supersensuous sight; behold My Yoga Power Supreme. 8

Sanjaya said:

SLOKA 9

Having thus spoken, O King, Hari, the Great Lord of Yoga, showed unto the son of Prithâ, His Supreme Ishvara-Form—

SLOKA 10

With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wondrous sights, with numerous celestial ornaments, with numerous celestial weapons uplifted;

SLOKA 11

Wearing celestial garlands and apparel, anointed with celestial-scented unguents, the All-wonderful, Resplendent, Boundless and All-formed.

SLOKA 12

If the splendour of a thousand suns were to rise up at once in the sky, that would be like the splendour of that Mighty Being. 12

SLOKA 13

There in the body of the God of gods, the son of Pându then saw the whole universe resting in one, with its manifold divisions.

SLOKA 14

Then Dhananjaya, filled with wonder, with his hair standing on end, bending down his head to the Deva in adoration, spoke with joined palms. 14

Arjuna said:

SLOKA 15

I see all the Devas, O Deva, in Thy body, and hosts of all grades of beings; Brahma, the Lord, seated on the lotus, and all the Rishis and celestial serpents.

SLOKA 16

I see Thee of boundless form on every side with manifold arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes; neither the end nor the middle, nor also the beginning of Thee do I see, O Lord of the universe, O Universal Form.

SLOKA 17

I see Thee with diadem, club, and discus; a mass of radiance shining everywhere, very hard to look at, all around blazing like burning fire and sun, and immeasurable.

SLOKA 18

Thou art the Imperishable, the Supreme Being, the one thing to be known. Thou art the great Refuge of this universe;. Thou art the undying Guardian of the Eternal Dharma, Thou art the Ancient. Purusha, I ween.

SLOKA 19

I see Thee without beginning, middle or end, infinite in power, of manifold arms; the sun and the moon Thine eyes, the burning fire Thy mouth; heating the whole universe with Thy radiance.

SLOKA 20

The space betwixt heaven and earth and all the quarters are filled by Thee alone; having seen this, Thy marvellous and awful Form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O Great-souled One.

SLOKA 21

Verily, into Thee enter these hosts of Devas; some extol Thee in fear with joined palms; “May it be well!” thus saying, bands of great Rishis and Siddhas praise Thee with splendid hymns.

SLOKA 22

The Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sâdhyas, Vishva-Devas, the two Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapâs, and hosts of Gandharvas, Yakshas, Asuras, and Siddhas,—all these are looking at Thee, all quite astounded. 22

SLOKA 23

Having seen Thy immeasurable Form—with many mouths and eyes, O mighty-armed, with many arms, thighs and feet, with many stomachs, and fearful with many tusks,—the worlds are terrified, and so am I.

SLOKA 24

On seeing Thee touching the sky, shining in many a colour, with mouths wide open, with large fiery eyes, I am terrified at heart, and find no courage nor peace, O Vishnu.

SLOKA 25

Having seen Thy mouths, fearful with tusks, (blazing) like Pralaya-fires, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace; have mercy, O Lord of the Devas, O Abode of the universe. 25

SLOKA 26-27

All these sons of Dhritarâshtra, with hosts of monarchs, Bhishma, Drona, and Sutaputra, with the warrior chiefs of ours, enter precipitately into Thy mouth, terrible with tusks and fearful to behold. Some are found sticking in the interstices of Thy teeth, with their heads crushed to powder. 26

SLOKA 28

Verily, as the many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, so do these heroes in the world of men enter Thy fiercely flaming mouths. 28

SLOKA 29

As moths precipitately rush into a blazing fire only to perish, even so do these creatures also precipitately rush into Thy mouths only to perish. 28

SLOKA 30

Swallowing all the worlds on every side with Thy flaming mouths, Thou are licking Thy lips. Thy fierce rays, filling the whole world with radiance, are burning, O Vishnu! 30

SLOKA 31

Tell me who Thou art, fierce in form. Salutation to Thee, O Deva Supreme; have mercy. I desire to know Thee, O Primeval One. I know not indeed Thy purpose.

The Blessed Lord said:

SLOKA 32

I am the mighty world-destroying Time, here made manifest for the purpose of infolding the world. Even without thee, none of the warriors arrayed in the hostile armies shall live. 32

SLOKA 33

Therefore do thou arise and acquire fame. Conquer the enemies, and enjoy the unrivalled dominion. Verily by Myself have they been already slain; be thou merely an apparent cause, O Savyasâchin (Arjuna). 33

SLOKA 34

Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, as well as other brave warriors,— these already killed by Me, do thou kill. Be not distressed with fear; fight, and thou shalt conquer thy enemies in battle. 34

Sanjaya said:

SLOKA 35

Having, heard that speech of Keshava, the diademed one (Arjuna), with joined palms, trembling, prostrated himself, and again addressed Krishna in a choked voice, bowing down, overwhelmed with fear.

Arjuna said:

SLOKA 36

It is meet, O Hrishikesha, that the world is delighted and rejoices in Thy praise, that Râkshasas fly in fear to all quarters and all the hosts of Siddhas bow down to Thee in adoration.

SLOKA 37

And why should they not, O Great-souled One, bow to Thee, greater than, and the Primal Cause of even Brahmâ, O Infinite Being, O Lord of the Devas, O Abode of the universe? Thou art the Imperishable, the Being and the non-Being, (as well as) That which is Beyond (them). 37

SLOKA 38

Thou art the Primal Deva, the Ancient Purusha; Thou art the Supreme Refuge of this universe, Thou art the Knower, and the One Thing to be known; Thou art the Supreme Goal. By Thee is the universe pervaded, O Boundless Form.

SLOKA 39

Thou art Vâyu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, the Moon, Prajâpati, and the Great-Grandfather. Salutation, salutation to Thee, a thousand times, and again and again salutation, salutation to Thee! 39

SLOKA 40

Salutation to Thee before and behind, salutation to Thee on every side, O All! Thou, infinite in power and infinite in prowess, pervadest all; wherefore Thou art All. 40

SLOKA 41-42

Whatever I have presumptuously said from carelessness or love, addressing Thee as, “O Krishna, O Yâdava, O friend,” regarding Thee merely as a friend, unconscious of this Thy greatness—in whatever way I may have been disrespectful to Thee in fun, while walking, reposing, sitting, or at meals, when alone (with Thee), O Achyuta, or in company— I implore Thee, Immeasurable One, to forgive all this. 41

SLOKA 43

Thou art the Father of the world, moving and unmoving; the object of its worship; greater than the great. None there exists who is equal to Thee in the three worlds; who then can excel Thee, O. Thou of power incomparable? 43

SLOKA 44

So prostrating my body in adoration, I crave Thy forgiveness, Lord adorable! As a father forgiveth his son, friend a dear friend, a beloved one his love, even so shouldst Thou forgive me, O Deva.

SLOKA 45

Overjoyed am I to have seen what I saw never before; yet my mind is distracted with terror. Show me, O Deva, only that Form of Thine. Have mercy, O Lord of Devas, O Abode of the universe.

SLOKA 46

Diademed, bearing a mace and a discus, Thee I desire to see as before. Assume that same four-armed Form, O Thou of thousand arms, of universal Form.

The Blessed Lord said:

SLOKA 47

Graciously have I shown to thee, O Arjuna, this Form supreme, by My own Yoga power, this resplendent, primeval, infinite, universal Form of Mine, which hath not been seen before by anyone else.

SLOKA 48

Neither by the study of the Veda and Yajna, nor by gifts, nor by rituals, nor by severe austerities, am I in such Form seen, in the world of men, by any other than thee, O great hero of the Kurus.

SLOKA 49

Be not afraid nor bewildered, having beheld this Form of Mine, so terrific. With thy fears dispelled and with gladdened heart, now see again this (former) form of Mine.

Sanjaya said:

SLOKA 50

So Vâsudeva, having thus spoken to Arjuna, showed again His own Form and the Great-souled One, assuming His gentle Form, pacified him who was terrified.

Arjuna said:

SLOKA 51

Having seen this Thy gentle human Form, O Janârdana, my thoughts are now composed and I am restored to my nature.

The Blessed Lord said:

SLOKA 52

Very hard indeed it is to see this Form of Mine which thou hast seen. Even the Devas ever long to behold this Form.

SLOKA 53

Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice can I be seen as thou hast seen Me.

SLOKA 54

But by the single-minded devotion I may in this Form, be known, O Arjuna, and seen in reality, and also entered into, O scorcher of foes. 54

SLOKA 55

He who does work for Me alone and has Me for his goal, is devoted to Me, is freed from attachment, and bears enmity towards no creature—he entereth into Me, O Pândava. 55

Footnotes

• 242:3 Thy Ishvara-Form—as possessed of omnipotence, omnipresence, infinite wisdom, strength, virtue and splendour.
• 244:7 Centred in one—as part of My body. All else—e.g., your success or defeat in the war, about which you entertain a doubt (II. 6).
• 245:8 Me—in My Universal Form.
• 246:12 Mighty Being: The Universal Form. The splendour of the Universal Form excels all others; it is indeed beyond compare.
• 247:14 Deva: God, in His Universal Form.
• 253:22 Ushmapâs—The Pitris.
• 254:25 Pralaya-fires: The fires which consume the worlds at the time of the final dissolution (Pralaya) of the universe. I know . . . quarters: I cannot distinguish the East from the West, nor the North from the South.
• 256:26 Sutaputra: The son of a charioteer, Kama.
• 257:28 28 & 29.—The two similes vividly illustrate how the assembled warriors rush to destruction, out of their uncontrollable nature, with or without discrimination.
• 258:30 Licking Thy lips: consuming entirely, enjoying it, as it were.
• 259:32 Even without thee &c.—Even without thy instrumentality, i.e., even if thou, O Arjuna, wouldst not fight, the end of all these warriors is inevitable, because I as the all-destroying Time have already killed them; so thy instrumentality in that work is insignificant.
• 260:33 Be thou . . . cause.—People will think thee as the vanquisher of thy enemies, whom even the Devas cannot kill, and thus thou wilt gain glory; but thou art only an instrument in My hand. Savyasâchin—one who could shoot arrows even with his left hand.
• 261:34 Already killed by me:—so do not be afraid of incurring sin by killing Drona, Bhishma and others though they are venerable to you as; your Guru, grandsire, etc. Distressed with fear—as regards success because these great warriors are regarded as invincible.
• 263:37 Brahmâ: the Hiranyagarbha. The Being and the non-Being, &c.—The Sat (manifested) and the Asat (unmanifested), which form the Upâdhis (adjuncts) of the Akshara (Imperishable); as such He is spoken of as the Sat and the Asat. In reality, the Imperishable transcends the Sat and the Asat.
• 265:39 Vâyu . . . Moon: The God of wind, death, fire, waters, and the moon. The Great-Grandfather—The Creator even of Brahmâ who is known as the Grandfather.
• 265:40 On every side: As Thou art present everywhere. Pervadest: by Thy One Self.
• 267:41 Love: Confidence born of affection. In company: in the presence of others.
• 267:43 None . . . to Thee—There cannot be two or more Ishvaras; if there were, the world could not get on as it does. When one Ishvara desires to create, another may desire to destroy. Who knows that all the different Ishvaras would be of one mind, as they would all be independent of each other?
• 274:54 Single-minded devotion: That devotion which never seeks any other object but the Lord alone, and consequently cognises no other object but the Lord.
• 274:55 Does work for Me alone: Serves Me alone in all forms and manner of ways, with his whole heart and soul, and thus does not become attached to them. He alone, whose devotion takes the forms as described in this sloka, can know and realise Him as He is in reality, and subsequently become one with Him.