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Bhagavad-gītā 11.31

आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपो नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद । विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम् ॥ ३१ ॥
ākhyāhi me ko bhavān ugra-rūpo
[aakhyaahi me ko bhavaan ugra-roopo]
namo ’stu te deva-vara prasīda
[namo ’stu te deva-vara praseeda]
vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṁ
[vijnaatum ichchaami bhavantam aadyam]
na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim
[na hi prajaanaami tava pravrittim]
Word-for-word
ākhyāhi — please explain me — unto me kaḥ — who bhavān — You ugra - rūpaḥ — fierce form namaḥ astu — obeisances te — unto You deva - vara — O great one amongst the demigods prasīda — be gracious vijñātum — to know icchāmi — I wish bhavantam — You ādyam — the original na — not hi — certainly prajānāmi — do I know tava — Your pravṛttim — mission .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ākhyāhi me ko bhavān ugra-rūpo
ākhyāhi
please explain
me
unto me
kaḥ
who
bhavān
You
ugra - rūpaḥ
fierce form
namo ’stu te deva-vara prasīda
namaḥ astu
obeisances
te
unto You
deva - vara
O great one amongst the demigods
prasīda
be gracious
vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṁ
vijñātum
to know
icchāmi
I wish
bhavantam
You
ādyam
the original
na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim
na
not
hi
certainly
prajānāmi
do I know
tava
Your
pravṛttim
mission .
Important Words
  • ākhyāhi — tell
    Imperative of ā-khyā, 'to declare.' Arjuna is not asking for explanation; he is asking for declaration. Identity, stated plainly.
  • ugra - rūpaḥ — of fierce form
    Compound: ugra (fierce) + rūpa (form). Arjuna now names the form by its terrible aspect rather than by its splendor — a shift from verse 17's tejaḥ-rāśim.
  • deva - vara — O greatest of the gods
    Vocative compound. Even in fear, Arjuna keeps the polite form of address. Terror does not erase courtesy in the Gītā's etiquette.
  • prasīda — be gracious
    Same imperative as 11.25. Repeated petitions across the chapter — the verb of begging-for-grace returns and returns.
  • ādyam — the primal
    Accusative of ādya, 'first.' Arjuna recognises the form as primal — before which there is no prior, and therefore no other source of meaning. To know the primal is to know the rest derivatively.
  • pravṛttim — mission, activity
    Accusative of pravṛtti — 'engagement, undertaking.' Arjuna asks not just who but what-for. The Lord's pravṛtti is what the next verse will answer: kālo 'smi.
O Lord of lords, so fierce of form, please tell me who You are. I offer my obeisances unto You; please be gracious to me. You are the primal Lord. I want to know about You, for I do not know what Your mission is.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
The pivotal question of the chapter: 'Who are You, in this fierce form? What is Your mission?' Arjuna asked to see; now he asks to understand what he is seeing. The reply will be the kāla-asmi verse — the chapter's metaphysical center.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The question 'kaḥ bhavān' is striking — Arjuna has been with Kṛṣṇa his whole life, has just heard ch. 10 declaring identity, yet the ugra-rūpa renders him unfamiliar. 'Pravṛtti' is precisely 'undertaking, what You are setting out to do' — Arjuna is asking after Kṛṣṇa's purpose, not just His identity. The setup is exact: Kṛṣṇa will answer with both.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे देव-वर! उग्र-रूपः भवान् कः — मे आख्याहि; ते नमः अस्तु, प्रसीद; आद्यं भवन्तं विज्ञातुम् इच्छामि; तव प्रवृत्तिं हि न प्रजानामि ।
he deva-vara! ugra-rūpaḥ bhavān kaḥ — me ākhyāhi; te namaḥ astu, prasīda; ādyaṃ bhavantaṃ vijñātum icchāmi; tava pravṛttiṃ hi na prajānāmi |
O best of gods, tell me: who are You of this fierce form? Salutations to You — be gracious! I wish to know You, the primal one; for I do not understand Your activity.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
आख्याहि मे कः भवान् उग्र-रूपः नमः अस्तु ते देव-वर प्रसीद । विज्ञातुम् इच्छामि भवन्तम् आद्यं न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम् ॥
ākhyāhi me kaḥ bhavān ugra-rūpaḥ namaḥ astu te deva-vara prasīda | vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṃ na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
आख्याहि ākhyāhi आ + √ख्या impv. 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) tell, declare
मे me अस्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) dat.sg. (dative singular) to me
कः kaḥ किम् (interr. (interrogative) pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. who
भवान् bhavān भवत् (pron. (pronoun), respectful) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. Your honor
उग्र-रूपः ugra-rūpaḥ उग्र (adj.) + रूप (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) of fierce form
नमः namaḥ नमस् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) salutation
अस्तु astu √अस् impv. 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) let there be
ते te युष्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) dat.sg. (dative singular) to You
देव-वर deva-vara देव (m.) + वर (adj.) voc.sg. (vocative singular), karmadhāraya cpd. (compound) O best of gods
प्रसीद prasīda प्र + √सद् impv. 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) be gracious
विज्ञातुम् vijñātum वि + √ज्ञा inf. (infinitive) to know fully
इच्छामि icchāmi √इष् pres. (present) 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) I wish
भवन्तम् bhavantam भवत् (pron. (pronoun), respectful) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. Your honor
आद्यम् ādyam आद्य (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. primal
हि hi ind. (indeclinable), causal for
प्रजानामि prajānāmi प्र + √ज्ञा pres. (present) 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) I understand
तव tava युष्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) gen.sg. (genitive singular) Your
प्रवृत्तिम् pravṛttim प्रवृत्ति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) activity, intention
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
31. Tell me who You are, with this terrifying form. I offer respects to You. O best of the devas, be merciful to me. I desire to know You, the first being. I do not understand Your purpose.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
31. Tell me who You are, with this terrifying form. I offer respects to You. O bestower of boons, be merciful to me. I desire to know You, the first being. I do not understand Your action.
Commentary

After describing the Lord in His universal form equipped with His time energy, Arjuna, knowing the truth of this form, asks about this form, in order to strengthen His knowledge of the matter. Arjuna had requested the Lord to see that form of power endowed with a thousand heads (verse 3). The Lord showed that form, and then He shows that same form as the most ferocious destroyer. Tell me who You are in that ferocious form. O best deity (devavara)! I offer respects to You. Be merciful, and give up that terrible form. I desire to know You, the first being, particularly (vijñātum). I do not understand Your action—why have you done this? Tell me the purpose.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Arjuna is asking two questions: (1) who are You? and (2) what is Your mission? And Krsna answers:

[C. "KALO'SMI LOKA‑KSAYA‑KRT" ‑ BECOME MY INSTRUMENT (11. 32‑34) Krsna answers: 'Time I am, destroyer of the world. The great warriors no both sides are already slain by my plan. You can be but an instrument. Arise and fight!"]

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Now Arjuna describes Kala-rupa

COMMON THEME: Text 11.19 marks the beginning of description of ‘Kala-rupa’ (The form as Time) which

continues up till Text 11.31

PLEASE NOTE: All points of the purports are included as the sub-points; as such there are no individual ‘Focus of

Learning’ sections for these verses.

ARJUNA’S FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIVERSAL FORM AS ‘KALA-RUPA’.

Blazing fire coming forth from your mouth, burning this entire universe (11.19)
Numberless arms and sun and moon are the eyes
Without origin, middle and end
Repetition of glories is not a flaw – It is a sign of bewilderment, wonder or great ecstasy
Spread throughout – Spread throughout the sky and planets and all space in between; and all the planetary systems are perturbed seeing you (11.20)
‘Dyav-a-prthivyoh’ (Space between heaven and earth) and ‘Loka-trayam’ (Three worlds) –indicate that not only Arjuna saw, but other planetary systems, whoever endowed with divine vision, also saw this form and got perturbed
This proves that Arjuna’s seeing was not a dream
Petitioned by demigods – Kala-rupa is petitioned by demigods and sages – All are fearful (11.21 – 11.22)
Demigods are surrendering and praying with folded hands
Great sages are praying with Vedic hymns
Siva, Adityas, Vasus etc beholding You in wonder
Rasa changes to fear – Arjuna experiences a terrible fearsome sight (11.23)
Arjuna loses steadiness and equilibrium of mind, because mind is perturbed by fear (11.24)
Arjuna sees blazing death-like faces and awful teeth (11.25)
Link between texts 11.25 & 11.26: Text 11.26 through 11.30 describe future occurrences that Arjuna sees within the kala-rupa. In Text 11.7, Krishna said that Arjuna could see “whatever *he+ may want to see in the future.” In these texts, Arjuna sees that Bhisma, Drona and Karna – the three most feared members of the opposing army – will be destroyed.
Two Analogies: Devouring all soldiers of both armies on both sides, including Bhisma, Drona & Karna, rushing into Your mouth (11.26 – 11.27)
Analogy: As many waves of river flow into the ocean (11.28)
Analogy: As moths dash to destruction in blazing fire (11.29*)
Indicates that Arjuna could see his awaited victory
All-devouring – You are devouring all people from all sides, your effulgence is covering all the universe with terrible scorching rays(11.30)

ARJUNA’S QUESTIONS

Arjuna in great fear asks two questions (11.31)
Who are You?
What is Your mission?
Why Arjuna asks these questions – Because although Arjuna knew Krishna as his friend and Supreme Personality of Godhead, but he was puzzled by various forms exhibited by Krishna
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
11.31 Akhyahi, tell; me; kah, who; bhavan, You are; ugrarupah, fierce in form. Namah, salutation; astu, be; te, to You; deva-vara, O supreme God, foremost among the gods. Prasida, be gracious. Icchami, I desire; vijnatum, to fully know; bhavantam, You; adyam, who are the Primal One, who exist in the beginning. Hi, for; na prajanami, I do not understand; tava, Your; pravrttim, actions!
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
11.31 Who are You of this terrible form, what do You intend to do? I wish to know. For I do not know Your intended actions. Tell me this. Salutations to You, O Supreme God! Salutations to You, Lord of everything! Say with what object and for what purpose You have assumed this form of the destroyer. Assume a pleasing form. The Lord, the charioteer of Arjuna, being estioned, 'What is Your intention in assuming a terrible form when revealing Your cosmic sovereignty out of overflowing love for Your proteges?' - He spoke to the following effect: The manifestation of a terrible form by Me is to point out that I Myself am operative for the annihilation of the entire world of kings headed by the sons of Dhrtarastra, without any effort on your (Arjuna's) part. Reminding Arjuna of this, is to goad him to fight:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
11.31 Akhyahi etc. I do not clearly comprehend Your behaviour : I.e. with what intention this terrific nature of this sort [has been assumed by You].
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
11.31 Tell me, who Thou art, so fierce of form. Salutations to Thee, O God Supreme: have mercy. I desire to know Thee, the original Being. I know not indeed Thy working.
Commentary

11.31 आख्याहि tell? मे me? कः who (art)? भवान् Thou? उग्ररूपः fierce in form? नमः salutation? अस्तु be? ते to Thee? देववर O God Supreme? प्रसीद have mercy? विज्ञातुम् to know? इच्छामि (I) wish? भवन्तम् Thee? आद्यम् the original Being? न not? हि indeed? प्रजानामि (I) know? तव Thy? प्रवृत्तिम् doing.No Commentary.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
11.31 Tell me who You are, fierce in form. Salutation be to you, O supreme God; be gracious. I desire to fully know You who are the Prima One. For I do not understand Your actions!
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
11.31 Tell me then who Thou art, that wearest this dreadful Form? I bow before Thee, O Mighty One! Have mercy, I pray, and let me see Thee as Thou wert at first. I do not know what Thou intendest.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Prema (Divine Love)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)
Related verses
BG 11.32 BG 4.7 BG 4.8 SB 1.7.25 SB 10.29.14 SB 3.24.31 CC Madhya 20.216 CC Madhya 20.323 CC Ādi 3.25 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.18Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.1.10
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Tell me who You are, with so terrible a form? I do not understand Your purpose — please be merciful.
Practical Applications
  • Voice the question rather than freeze in confusion.
  • Ask for the Lord's purpose to be revealed.
  • Honor the right to ask.
Reflection Questions
  • What confusion have I been freezing in?
  • What asking would unfreeze?
Analogy

A petitioner who has been struck dumb by the king's full regalia finally finds his voice and asks the one honest question: 'Sir, who are you, and what do you intend?' Arjuna's question is the question every soul must one day put to the Lord — directly, naming the fear, not pretending to be unafraid.

Stories
Prahlāda Asking Nṛsiṁha to Be Pacified

After Hiraṇyakaśipu's death (SB 7.9), the demigods were too afraid to approach the still-raging Nṛsiṁha. Even Lakṣmī hung back. Only the boy Prahlāda was sent forward, and he prostrated himself and prayed — asking the Lord to please be pacified (prasīda).

Arjuna's prasīda in 11.31 stands in this lineage. The Lord's fierce form requires not flattery but the honest petition of a devotee who has nowhere else to go.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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