FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 11.23

రూపం మహత్తే బహువక్‍త్రనేత్రం మహాబాహో బహుబాహూరుపాదమ్ । బహూదరం బహుదంష్ట్రాకరాలం దృష్ట్వా లోకా: ప్రవ్యథితాస్తథాహమ్ ॥ ౨౩ ॥
rūpaṁ mahat te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ
[roopam mahat te bahu-vaktra-netram]
mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam
[mahaa-baaho bahu-baahooru-paadam]
bahūdaraṁ bahu-daṁṣṭrā-karālaṁ
[bahoodaram bahu-damshtraa-karaalam]
dṛṣṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham
[drishtvaa lokaah pravyathitaas tathaaham]
Word-for-word
rūpam — the form mahat — very great te — of You bahu — many vaktra — faces netram — and eyes mahā - bāho — O mighty-armed one bahu — many bāhu — arms ūru — thighs pādam — and legs bahu - udaram — many bellies bahu - daṁṣṭrā — many teeth karālam — horrible dṛṣṭvā — seeing lokāḥ — all the planets pravyathitāḥ — perturbed tathā — similarly aham — I .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rūpaṁ mahat te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ
rūpam
the form
mahat
very great
te
of You
bahu
many
vaktra
faces
netram
and eyes
mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam
mahā - bāho
O mighty-armed one
bahu
many
bāhu
arms
ūru
thighs
pādam
and legs
bahūdaraṁ bahu-daṁṣṭrā-karālaṁ
bahu - udaram
many bellies
bahu - daṁṣṭrā
many teeth
karālam
horrible
dṛṣṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
lokāḥ
all the planets
pravyathitāḥ
perturbed
tathā
similarly
aham
I .
Important Words
  • vaktra — mouth
    Compound element repeated through the verse. The mouths are now stressed because they are about to become devouring (verses 25–30). Vocabulary thickens around the form's terrible aspect.
  • mahā - bāho — O mighty-armed
    Vocative — an epithet Arjuna himself usually receives. Here Arjuna applies it to Kṛṣṇa, surrendering even his own warrior-title to the form before him.
  • bahu - daṁṣṭrā — many-toothed
    Compound: many + tooth/fang. Daṁṣṭrā is specifically the fang — predatory, not vegetarian. The lexicon is now openly that of a devouring being.
  • karālam — terrible
    Adjective from kṛ — 'doing fearful things.' Karāla becomes a standard epithet of Kālī and other fierce forms; Arjuna invokes it here for the cosmic form.
  • pravyathitāḥ — perturbed
    Same root as 11.20 — the trembling intensifies. The worlds were perturbed; now Arjuna joins them. The grammar is precise: tathā aham — 'so am I.'
O mighty-armed one, all the planets with their demigods are disturbed at seeing Your great form, with its many faces, eyes, arms, thighs, legs and bellies and Your many terrible teeth; and as they are disturbed, so am I.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
23. O mighty-armed one, seeing this great form with many mouths and eyes, many arms, many thighs and feet, many stomachs, fearful with many teeth, the world and I as well are filled with terror.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
23. O mighty-armed one, seeing this great form with many mouths and eyes, many arms, thighs and feet, many stomachs, fearful with many teeth, the world is filled with terror.
Commentary

This verse concludes the description of the three worlds being agitated on seeing the form. This form was ferocious (karālam) with many teeth. The rest of the verse is clear. The last phrase tathāham (I also) is connected to the next verse as the subject.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Now Arjuna starts to see the fear even of the demigods, he also becomes affraid. His rasa changes from wonder (adbhuta) to fear (bhaya).

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
11.23 Mahabaho, O mighty-armed One; drstva, seeing; te, Your; mahat, immence, very vast; upam, form of this kind; bahu-vaktra-netram, with many mouths and eyes; bahu-bahu-uru-padam, having many arms, thighs and feet; and further, bahu-udaram, with many bellies; and bahu-damstra-karalam, fearful with many teeth; lokah, the creatures in the world; are pravya-thitah, struck with terror; tatha, and so also; am even aham, I. The reason of that is this:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
11.23 Beholding Your mighty form, as described earlier, which is an exceedingly terrifying figure because of the large teeth - all the worlds, described earlier and containing three kinds of beings, friendly, antagonistic and neutral, and I myself too have become panic-stricken.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
11.23 Sri Abhinavagupta did not comment upon this sloka.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
11.23 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 teeth the worlds are terrified and so am I.
Commentary

11.23 रूपम् form? महत् immeasurable? ते Thy? बहुवक्त्रनेत्रम् with many mouths and eyes? महाबाहो O,mightyarmed? बहुबाहूरुपादम् with many arms? thighs and feet? बहूदरम् with many stomachs. बहुदंष्ट्राकरालम् fearful with many teeth? दृष्ट्वा having seen? लोकाः the worlds? प्रव्यथिताः are terrified? तथा also? अहम् I.Commentary Lokah The worlds -- all living beings in the world. Here is the cause of my fear. Arjuna describes below the nature of the Cosmic Form which has caused terror in his heart.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
11.23 O mighty-armed One, seeing Your immense form with many mouths and eyes, having numerous arms, thighs and feet, with many bellies, and fearful with many teeth, the creatures are struck with terror, and so am I.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
11.23 Seeing Thy stupendous Form, O Most Mighty, with its myriad faces, its innumerable eyes and limbs and terrible jaws, I myself and all the worlds are overwhelmed with awe.
Related values & verses
Related values
Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 11.25 BG 11.30 BG 11.20 SB 10.3.31 SB 3.15.32 SB 12.4.15 CC Madhya 20.394 CC Madhya 21.44 CC Madhya 21.119 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.3.3Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.21
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Seeing Your great form with many mouths and eyes, many arms and thighs — all the worlds are perturbed, as I am.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize that even Arjuna is perturbed by this vision.
  • Don't expect spiritual vision to always be soothing.
  • Honor the disturbance as a stage.
Reflection Questions
  • When has spiritual encounter disturbed me?
  • Did I treat it as failure or stage?
Analogy

A peasant who has never left his valley meets the army of his emperor — every regiment, every general, every weapon — and he trembles as the worlds tremble. Arjuna sees the cosmos trembling, and his own self, made of the cosmos, trembles in unison.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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