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Bhagavad-gītā 11.6

पश्यादित्यान्वसून्‍रुद्रानश्विनौ मरुतस्तथा । बहून्यदृष्टपूर्वाणि पश्याश्चर्याणि भारत ॥ ६ ॥
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān
[pashyaadityaan vasoon rudraan]
aśvinau marutas tathā
[ashvinau marutas tathaa]
bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi
[bahoony adrishta-poorvaani]
paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata
[pashyaashcharyaani bhaarata]
Word-for-word
paśya — see ādityān — the twelve sons of Aditi vasūn — the eight Vasus rudrān — the eleven forms of Rudra aśvinau — the two Aśvinīs marutaḥ — the forty-nine Maruts (demigods of the wind) tathā — also bahūni — many adṛṣṭa — that you have not seen pūrvāṇi — before paśya — see āścaryāṇi — all the wonders bhārata — O best of the Bhāratas .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān
paśya
see
ādityān
the twelve sons of Aditi
vasūn
the eight Vasus
rudrān
the eleven forms of Rudra
aśvinau marutas tathā
aśvinau
the two Aśvinīs
marutaḥ
the forty-nine Maruts (demigods of the wind)
tathā
also
bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi
bahūni
many
adṛṣṭa
that you have not seen
pūrvāṇi
before
paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata
paśya
see
āścaryāṇi
all the wonders
bhārata
O best of the Bhāratas .
Important Words
  • ādityān — the Ādityas
    Twelve sun-gods, sons of Aditi. By beginning with them, Kṛṣṇa anchors Arjuna's vision in the most luminous demigods — a gentle on-ramp to what is to come.
  • rudrān — the Rudras
    Eleven forms of Śiva, presiding over destruction. Their inclusion forewarns Arjuna that the vision will not be only solar and benign; the dissolving aspect is already on the list.
  • marutaḥ — the Maruts
    Forty-nine storm-gods. Their wind-energy belongs to the cosmic body Arjuna will see in verses 10–11 as 'all-expanding.'
  • adṛṣṭa — never seen
    Compound participle, 'not-seen.' Kṛṣṇa flags that what follows is unprecedented — even great sages have not seen this.
  • āścaryāṇi — wonders
    Neuter plural of āścarya — that which arrests perception. The Gītā uses āścarya again in 2.29 ('one sees the self as a wonder'); wonder is the proper register for both ātman and viśva-rūpa.
O best of the Bhāratas, see here the different manifestations of Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aśvinī-kumāras and all the other demigods. Behold the many wonderful things which no one has ever seen or heard of before.
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)
Kṛṣṇa lists the principal classes of devas already cataloged in ch. 10 — now visible at once inside His body. The promise 'never seen before' raises the stakes: this will outstrip every prior vision in scripture or memory.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The catalog (12 Ādityas, 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, 2 Aśvins, 49 Maruts) maps the entire Vedic pantheon onto the viśvarūpa. What ch. 10 declared by name is here offered to direct perception. 'Adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi' establishes Arjuna's uniqueness — the gift exceeds anything granted to ṛṣis or devas; cf. 11.47-48.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे भारत! आदित्यान् वसून् रुद्रान् अश्विनौ तथा मरुतः पश्य; बहूनि अदृष्ट-पूर्वाणि आश्चर्याणि (अपि) पश्य ।
he bhārata! ādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau tathā marutaḥ paśya; bahūni adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi āścaryāṇi (api) paśya |
O Bhārata, see the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, the two Aśvins, and likewise the Maruts; see also many wonders never seen before.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
पश्य आदित्यान् वसून् रुद्रान् अश्विनौ मरुतः तथा । बहूनि अदृष्ट-पूर्वाणि पश्य आश्चर्याणि भारत ॥
paśya ādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutaḥ tathā | bahūni adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśya āścaryāṇi bhārata ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
पश्य paśya √दृश् impv. 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) see, behold
आदित्यान् ādityān आदित्य (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural) the Ādityas
वसून् vasūn वसु (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural) the Vasus
रुद्रान् rudrān रुद्र (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural) the Rudras
अश्विनौ aśvinau अश्विन् (m.) acc.du. (accusative dual) the two Aśvins
मरुतः marutaḥ मरुत् (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural) the Maruts
तथा tathā ind. (indeclinable), conn. likewise
बहूनि bahūni बहु (adj.) acc.pl. (accusative plural)n. many
अदृष्ट-पूर्वाणि adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi अ + दृष्ट (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + पूर्व (adj.) acc.pl. (accusative plural)n., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) not seen before
आश्चर्याणि āścaryāṇi आश्चर्य (n.) acc.pl. (accusative plural) wonders
भारत bhārata भारत (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) O Bhārata
Purport

Even though Arjuna was a personal friend of Kṛṣṇa and the most advanced of learned men, it was still not possible for him to know everything about Kṛṣṇa. Here it is stated that humans have neither heard nor known of all these forms and manifestations. Now Kṛṣṇa reveals these wonderful forms.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
6. See the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Aśvins and the Maruts. O descendant of Bharata, see many astonishing forms not seen before.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
6. See the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Aśvins and the Maruts. O descendent of Bharata, see many astonishing forms not seen before.
Commentary

The Lord speaks about these forms situated in one place in two verses. See many forms which have not been seen by others or by you before, which are most astonishing.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Krsna keeps saying 'pasya',"see this, see that!..." Krsna also says 'no one has ever seen this before'. Krsna showed something like this to Duryodhana when He went as a messanger of Yudhisthira to plead with them for peace settlement. Karna and Duryodhana had an horrible plan. They said: "Krsna has come on behalf of Yudhisthira and Arjuna, let us teach Him a something." They plotted to tie Him up with ropes and put Him in prison just before He was going to leave. At that time, Krsna showed part of His universal form and He expanded Himself and they were all frightened but Krsna was laughing in a very amazing way.

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

Krishna’s Description

COMMON THEME: Krishna responds by offering to show Arjuna, the opulences He described in Chapter 10

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.

Focus of Learning

(a) Qualification to see the Lord

Only by revelation by the mercy of the Lord – Therefore Arjuna requests and pleads and not orders
Not possible by “mental speculation” or “perception by material senses”
Because living entity as infinitesimal spiritual spark ,cannot know unlimited infinite
Arjuna admits his limitations as a living entity and acknowledges Krishna’s inestimable position
Lord is addressed as ‘Yogesvara’ –
To point out His inconceivable potencies by which the infinite can reveal to the finite
Krishna is not obliged to reveal Himself until one ‘fully surrenders’ in Krishna consciousness and engages in transcendental loving service

(a) Why Arjuna requests Krishna to show His Universal Form (4 points):

1. To establish Krishna’s divinity for all (11.1 purport)

2. To convince others, although he does not have any personal desire and is completely

satisfied to see Him in His personal form of Krishna (11.3 purport)

Lord is addressed as Purushottama – Implies that Lord as Supreme Personality of Godhead, knows the heart of Arjuna, that he has no personal desire to see

3. To avoid imposters - Wants to set a criteria for in the future there will be so many imposters

who will pose as incarnations of God (11.3 purport)

4. Arjuna, as a responsibility, wants to substantiate Krishna’s statement – so that in the future

people can understand that Krishna “not only theoretically or philosophically”, but ‘actually’

presented Himself as such to Arjuna – Arjuna fulfils his responsibility because he is the

beginning of the Parampara (11.8 purport)

KRISHNA’S DESCRIPTION OF HIS OWN UNIVERSAL FORM

Krishna shows variegated forms – “See My Opulences!, Hundreds and thousands of varied divine and multicoloured forms” (11.5)
Universal form is transcendental but temporary because it is subject to the temporary time of material nature (Is manifested and unmanifested like material nature) (11.5)
Not eternally situated in spiritual sky (11.5)
Universal Form is not possible to be seen by ordinary men – Krishna must give one the power to see it (11.5)
Wonderful forms with different manifestations of Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Asvini-kumaras and all other demigods
No-one has ever seen or heard of this before (11.6)
Even Arjuna, a personal friend and most advanced learned man, did not know all about Krishna (11.6)
Could see the entire universe (All moving and non-moving) sitting at one place (11.7*)
Even most advanced scientist cannot see other parts of universe, which a pure devotee could see so easily (11.7*)
Could see past, present and future, all what Arjuna wanted to see (11.7*)
Thus Arjuna will be shown the future destiny of all the relatives and warriors and thus will be motivated to just become an instrument (11.7*)
Needed divine vision – Cannot be seen with the present eyes (11.8*)
Pure devotees do not like to see Krishna in any form, other than His two-handed form
Therefore Arjuna is told not to change the mind, but change the eyes by Krishna’s grace (11.8*)
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
11.6 Pasya, see; adityan, the twelve Adityas; vasun, the eight Vasus; rudran, the eleven Rudras; asvinau, the two Asvins; and amarutah, the Maruts, who are divided into seven groups of seven each. Bharata, O scion of the Bharata dynasty; pasya, behold; tatha, also; bahuni, the many other; ascaryani, wonders; adrstapurvani, not seen before-by you or anyone else in the human world. Not only this much,-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
11.6 Behold in My single form (i.e., the many forms in the one form revealed to Arjuna), the twelve Adityas, eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, the two Asvins and forty-nine Maruts. This is just illustrative. Behold all those things directly perceived in this world and those described in the Sastras, and also many marvels, not seen before in all the worlds and in all the Sastras.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
11.6 Sri Abhinavagupta did not comment upon this sloka.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
11.6 Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Asvins and also the Maruts; behold many wonders never seen before, O Arjuna.
Commentary

11.6 पश्य behold? आदित्यान् the Adityas? वसून् the Vasus? रुद्रान् the Rudras? अश्िवनौ the (two) Asvins? मरुतः the Maruts? तथा also? बहूनि many? अदृष्टपूर्वाणि never seen before? पश्य see? आश्चर्याणि wonders? भारत O Bharata.Commentary Adityas? Vasus? Rudras and Maruts have already been described in the previous chapter.Not these alone Behold also many other wonders never seen before by you or anybody else in this world.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
11.6 See the Adiyas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Asvins and the Maruts. O scion of the Bharata dynasty, behold also the many wonders not seen before.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
11.6 Behold thou the Powers of Nature: fire, earth, wind and sky; the sun, the heavens, the moon, the stars; all forces of vitality and of healing; and the roving winds. See the myriad wonders revealed to none but thee.
Related values & verses
Related values
Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)Bhakti (Devotion)
Related verses
BG 10.21 BG 10.23 BG 11.22 SB 6.6.1 SB 2.1.30 SB 3.12.26 CC Madhya 20.292 CC Madhya 21.37 CC Ādi 5.79 Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.9.1Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2.1.5
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Behold the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aśvinī-kumāras, Maruts — many wonders that no one has seen before.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize that you are being shown what others have not seen.
  • Treat received vision as gift, not entitlement.
  • Don't trivialize what scripture marks as rare.
Reflection Questions
  • What gift of vision have I taken for granted?
  • How would gratitude reshape it?
Analogy

A child taken into the royal household is first shown the ministers, the generals, the priests — only later the king. Kṛṣṇa lists Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras before showing the totality, so Arjuna's vision can climb a familiar staircase before it enters the unfamiliar hall.

Stories
Vidura at the Court of Maitreya

When Vidura, exiled, sought out the sage Maitreya (SB 3.20–32), he was first given an orderly account of the demigods — Brahmā, the Prajāpatis, the Manus, the Ādityas — before being given the highest teaching of devotional service to Hari.

Kṛṣṇa here follows the same pedagogy: paśya ādityān vasūn rudrān — see the catalogue first, the apex next. The mind that has not located the parts cannot bear the whole.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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