Bhagavad-gītā 11.25
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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daṁṣṭrā
—
teeth
Nominative. The fangs again, now in close-up — Arjuna is looking directly at them rather than describing the body from a distance.
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karālāni
—
terrible
Same root as 11.23; here in the neuter plural agreeing with mukhāni. The terribleness has shifted from form to face.
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kāla - anala
—
fire of cosmic time
Compound: kāla (time) + anala (fire). The Mahābhārata's technical name for the dissolution-fire. Arjuna labels what he sees by its proper apocalyptic title.
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sannibhāni
—
resembling
Neuter plural of sannibha — 'with the appearance of.' Like 11.12's sadṛśī, the verse marks resemblance rather than identity. Even at peak terror, Arjuna's diction stays precise.
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prasīda
—
be gracious
Imperative of pra-sad. The single-word petition that will be repeated in 11.31, 11.45, and 11.46. The chapter's most-used verb of supplication.
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jagat - nivāsa
—
refuge of the worlds
Vocative compound: jagat (world) + nivāsa (dwelling, resting-place). Arjuna names the Lord by His function of giving shelter at the moment he most desperately needs it.
Seeing Your ferocious teeth and mouths, which are similar (saṁnibhāni) to the fire of destruction at the end of the universe (kalānala), [Note: This was described as one of Kṛṣṇa’s vibhūtis in the last chapter, verse 33.] (I do not recognize the directions), and I find no comfort (śarma). Bg 11.26, Bg 11.27, Bg 11.26-27 AMaq c Tva& Da*Taraí\SYa Pau}aa" SaveR SahEvaviNaPaal/SaºE" ) >aqZMaae d]ae<a" SaUTaPau}aSTaQaaSaaE SahaSMadqYaEriPa YaaeDaMau:YaE" )) 26 )) v£-ai<a Tae TvrMaa<aa ivXaiNTa d&í\ak-ral/aiNa >aYaaNak-aiNa ) ke-iciŪl/Gana dXaNaaNTarezu SaNd*XYaNTae cUi<aRTaEṛtaMaa(r)E" )) 27 )) amī ca tvāṁ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūta-putras tathāsau sahāsmadīyair api yodha-mukhyaiḥ vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ amī—these; ca—also; tvām—You; dhṛtarāṣṭrasya—of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; putrāḥ—the sons; sarve—all; saha—with; eva—indeed; avani-pāla—of warrior kings; saṅghaiḥ—the groups; bhīṣmaḥ—Bhīṣmadeva; droṇaḥ—Droṇācārya; sūta-putraḥ—Karṇa; tathā—also; asau—that; saha—with; asmadīyaiḥ—our; api—also; yodha-mukhyaiḥ—chiefs among the warriors; vaktrāṇi—mouths; te—Your; tvaramāṇāḥ—rushing; viśanti—are entering; daṁṣṭrā—teeth; karālāni—terrible; bhayānakāni—very fearful; kecit—some of them; vilagnāḥ—becoming attached; daśana-antareṣu—between the teeth; sandṛśyante—are seen; cūrṇitaiḥ—with smashed; uttama-aṅgaiḥ—heads.
The Lord previously said “See whatever else you desire to see.” The Lord meant, “See in My body the future victory and defeat in this war.” Now he shows this in five verses. All these sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Duryodhana and others, along with the gathering of kings (avani pāla) such as Śalya and Jayadratha, and that son of a charioteer, Karṇa (asau sūta putraḥ) are swiftly entering Your mouths. And even those who are famous as undefeatable, like Bhīṣma, are entering Your mouths. Asau used with sūta putraḥ indicates “Karṇa has held continuous hatred of me (Arjuna).” Not only those, but they enter Your mouths even with our chief warriors such as Dhṛṣṭadhyumna. The ornament sahokti is used. [Note: In the case of being sahokti, the sentence would suggest that the chief warriors are causing the enemy to enter the mouths.] Among them, some are seen to be stuck between the teeth of that universal form, with their heads (uttamaḥ aṅgaiḥ) crushed. This is what I see.
Arjuna's rasa is turning to bewiderement. Earlier in this chapter Krsna said: "See all this in just one part of My body." But as soon as Arjuna was actually seeing the universal form, he forgot he couldn't see Krsna's body anymore, he could only see the universal form.
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’.
ARJUNA’S QUESTIONS
11.25 दंष्ट्राकरालानि fearful with teeth? च and? ते Thy? मुखानि mouths? दृष्ट्वा having seen? एव even? कालानलसन्निभानि blazing like Pralayafires? दिशः the four arters? न not? जाने know? न not? लभे do (I) obtain? च and? शर्म peace? प्रसीद have mercy? देवेश O Lord of the gods? जगन्निवास O abode of the universe.Commentary Jagannivasa The substratum of the universe.Kalanala The fires which consume the worlds during the final dissolution of the worlds (Pralaya). Time (Kala) is the consumer of all that is manifest.Diso no jane I do not know the four arters. I cannot distinguish the east from the west? nor the north from the south.
- Cry out for mercy when cosmic vision overwhelms.
- Don't pretend you can absorb everything Kṛṣṇa shows.
- Acknowledge limit and ask for protection.
- Where do I pretend I can handle what overwhelms me?
- What does asking for mercy open?
When you look up at a wildfire racing across a hillside, you do not first calculate hectares — you turn your face. Arjuna, looking at faces that resemble the fire of cosmic dissolution, does the same; he hides his bearings and begs for mercy.
The sage Mārkaṇḍeya, granted long life, witnessed the cosmic dissolution — kāla-anala, the fire of time — sweep across all the worlds (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 188; SB 12.9). He drifted alone on the waters of pralaya, calling out to the Lord, until Lord Nārāyaṇa appeared as a child on a banyan leaf and took him into His body.
Arjuna's word in 11.25 — kāla-anala-sannibhāni, like the fire of cosmic time — is precisely Mārkaṇḍeya's vision. Arjuna does not invent the simile; he is recognising a category the tradition already knows.
My note
Source: vedabase.io