śrīmadbhagavadgītā mūlam - ekādaśo'dhyāyaḥ

Arjuna Said: By this word of the highest secret concerning the Self, which You have spoken out of compassion towards me, my delusion is gone.

The origin and destruction of beings verily, have been heard by me in detail from You, O Lotus-eyed Krishna, and also Your inexhaustible greatness.

(Now) O Supreme Lord! As you have thus described Yourself, I wish to see (actually) Your Form Divine, O PURUSHOTTAMA.

If you, O Lord, think it possible for me to see It, do You please, then, O Lord of YOGAS, show me Your Imperishable Self-form.

he Blessed Lord said: Behold, O Partha, forms of Me, by hundreds and thousands, of different sorts Divine, of various colours and shapes.

Behold the ADITYAS, the VASUS, the RUDRAS, the (two) ASHWINS and also the MARUTS; behold many wonders never seen before, O Bharata.

Now behold, O Gudakesha, in this Body, that the whole universe centres in One --- including, the moving and the unmoving --- and whatever else you desire to see.

But You are not able to behold Me with these Your own eyes; I give You the divine-eye; behold My lordly YOGA.

Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken, O King, the great Lord of YOGA, Hari, showed to Partha His Supreme Form, as the Lord (of the Universe).

With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wonderful sights, with numerous divine ornaments, with numerous divine weapons uplifted (such a form He showed).

Wearing divine garlands (necklaces) and apparel, anointed with divine unguents, the All-wonderful, Resplendent, Endless, facing all sides.

If the splendour of a thousand Suns was to blaze all at once (simultaneously) in the sky, that would be like the splendour of that Mighty Being (great soul).

There, in the body of the God of gods, the Pandava (Son of Pandu) then saw the whole Universe resting in one, with all its infinite parts.

Then, Dhananjaya, filled with wonder, with his hair standing on end, bowed down his head to the God and spoke with joined palms.

Arjuna said: I see all the gods, O God, in Your body, and (also) hosts of various classes of beings. BRAHMA, the Lord of Creation, seated on the Lotus, all the RISHIS and celestial serpents.

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 do I see; O, Lord of the Universe, O, Cosmic-Form.

I see Thee with Crown, Club, and Discus; a mass of radiance shining everywhere, very hard to look at, all round blazing like burning fire and Sun, and incomprehensible.

You are the Imperishable, the Supreme Being worthy to be known. You are the great treasure-house of this Universe. You are the imperishable Protector of the Eternal DHARMA. In my opinion, You are the Ancient PURUSHA.

I see You without beginning, middle, or end, infinite in power, of endless arms, the sun and moon being Your eyes, the burning fire Your mouth, heating the whole universe with Your radiance.

This space between earth and the heavens and all the quarters is filled by You alone; having seen this, Your wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-souled Being.

Verily, into You enter these hosts of DEVAS; some extol You in fear with joined palms; May it be well thus saying bands of great RISHIS and SIDDHAS praise You with hymns sublime.

THE RUDRAS, ADITYAS, VASUS, SADHYAS, VISHWE-DEVAS, THE TWO ASHWINS, MARUTS, USHMAPAS AND HOSTS OF GANDHARVAS, YAKSHAS, ASURAS AND SIDDHAS --- they are all looking at you, all quite astonished.

Having seen Your immeasurable Form, with many mouths and eyes, O Mighty-armed, with many arms, thighs, and feet, with many stomachs and fearsome with many tusks, the worlds are terrified and so too am I.

On seeing you, with Your Form touching the sky, flaming in many colours, with mouths wide open, with large fiery eyes, I am terrified at heart, and I find neither courage, nor peace, O Vishnu!

Having seen your mouths fearsome with tusks (blazing) like PRALAYA fires, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace; be gracious, O Lord of the DEVAS, O Abode of the Universe.

All the sons of Dhritarashtra with hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona and the son of a charioteer, Karna, with the warrior chieftains of ours;

Into Your mouths, with terrible teeth, and fearful to behold, they precipitately enter. Some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth with their heads crushed into pulp.

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

Arjuna says: As moths rush hurriedly into a blazing fire for their own destruction, so also these creatures hastily rush into Your mouths of destruction.

Devouring all worlds on every side with Your flaming mouths, You are licking (in enjoyment). Your fierce rays, filling the whole world with radiance, are burning, O Vishnu.

Tell me, who You are, so fierce in form? Salutations to You, O God Supreme; have mercy. I desire to know You, the Original Being, I know not indeed Your purpose.

The Blessed Lord said: I am the mighty world-destroying Time, now engaged in destroying the worlds. Even without You, none of the warriors arrayed in hostile armies shall live.

Therefore, stand up, and obtain fame. Conquer the enemies and enjoy the flourishing kingdom. Verily by Myself they have already been slain; be you a mere instrument, O left-handed archer.

Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, and other brave warriors --- those have already been slain by Me; you do kill; be not distressed with fear; fight and you shall conquer your enemies in battle.

Sanjaya said: Having heard that speech of Keshava (Krishna), the crowned-one (Arjuna), with joined palms, trembling and prostrating himself, again addressed Krishna, in a choked voice, bowing down, overwhelmed with fear.

Arjuna said: It is but meet, O Hrishikesha (Krishna), that the world delights and rejoices in Thy praise; RAKSHASAS fly in fear to all quarters, and all hosts of SIDDHAS bow to Thee.

And why should they not, O Great-souled One, bow to Thee, greater (than all else), the Primal Cause even of Brahma, O Infinite Being, O Lord of Lords, O Abode of the Universe, You are the Imperishable, that which is beyond both the Manifest and the Unmanifest.

You are the Primal God, the Ancient PURUSHA; You are the Supreme Refuge of this universe. You are the knower, the knowable, and the Abode-Supreme. By Thee is the universe pervaded, O Being of Infinite forms.

You are VAYU, YAMA, AGNI, VARUNA, the Moon, PRAJAPATI, and the great-grandfather of all. Salutations! Salutations unto You a thousand times, and again salutations unto You!

Salutations to You, before and behind! Salutations to You on every side! O All! You, Infinite in Power, and Infinite in Prowess, pervade all; wherefore You are the All.

Whatever I have rashly said from carelessness or love, addressing You as O Krishna O Yadava O friend and regarding You merely as a friend, unknowing of this greatness of Yours...,

In whatever way I may have insulted You for the sake of fun, while at play, reposing or sitting, or at meals, when alone (with You), O Achyuta, or in company --- that, O Immeasurable One, I implore You to forgive.

You are the Father of this world, moving and unmoving. You are to be adored by this world. You are the greatest GURU, (for) there exists none who is equal to You; how can there be then another, superior to You in the three worlds, O Being of unequalled power?

Therefore, bowing down, prostrating my body, I crave your forgiveness, adorable Lord. As a father forgiveth his son, a friend his friend, a lover his beloved, even so should You forgive me, O DEVA.

I am delighted, having seen what was never seen before; and (yet) my mind is distressed with fear. Show me your previous form only, O God; have mercy, O God of gods, O Abode of the Universe.

I desire to see You as before, crowned, bearing a mace, with a discus in hand, in Your Former Form only, having four arms, O Thousand-armed, O Universal Form.

Blessed Lord said: Graciously by Me, O Arjuna, this Supreme-Form has been shown to you by My own YOGA-power --- Full of splendour, Primeval, Infinite, this Universal-Form of Mine has never been seen by any other than yourself.

Neither by the study of the VEDAS and sacrifices, nor by rituals, nor by severe austerities, can I be seen in this form in the world of men by any other than yourself, O great hero among the Kurus.

Be not afraid, nor bewildered on seeing such a terrible-Form of Mine as this; with your fear dispelled and with gladdened heart, now behold again this Form of Mine.

Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken to Arjuna, Vaasudeva again showed His own Form, and, the Great-souled One, assuming His gentle Form, consoled him who was so terrified.

Arjuna said: Having seen this, Thy gentle human-Form, O Janardana, I am now composed and restored to my own nature.

The Blessed Lord said: Very hard, indeed, it is to see this Form of Mine which you have seen. Even the gods are ever longing to behold this Form.

Neither by the VEDAS, nor by austerity, nor by gift, nor by sacrifices can I be seen in this Form as you have seen Me (in your present mental condition).

But, by single-minded devotion, can I, of this Form, be known and seen in reality, and also entered into, O Parantapa (O scorcher of your foes)!

He who does actions for Me, who looks upon Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity towards none, he comes to Me, O Pandava. Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the eleventh discourse entitled "The Yoga of the Cosmic Vision."