BG 11.29 — FolioCorpus

Bhagavad-gītā 11.29

యథా ప్రదీప్‍తం జ్‍వలనం పతఙ్గా విశన్తి నాశాయ సమృద్ధవేగా: । తథైవ నాశాయ విశన్తి లోకా- స్తవాపి వక్‍త్రాణి సమృద్ధవేగా: ॥ ౨౯ ॥

yathā pradīptaṁ jvalanaṁ pataṅgā

[yathaa pradeeptam jvalanam patangaa]

viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ

[vishanti naashaaya samriddha-vegaah]

tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās

[tathaiva naashaaya vishanti lokaas]

tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ

[tavaapi vaktraani samriddha-vegaah]

Word-for-word

yathā — as pradīptam — blazing jvalanam — a fire pataṅgāḥ — moths viśanti — enter nāśāya — for destruction samṛddha — with full vegāḥ — speed tathā eva — similarly nāśāya — for destruction viśanti — are entering lokāḥ — all people tava — Your api — also vaktrāṇi — mouths samṛddha - vegāḥ — with full speed .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

yathā pradīptaṁ jvalanaṁ pataṅgā

yathā

pradīptam

blazing

jvalanam

a fire

pataṅgāḥ

moths

viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ

viśanti

enter

nāśāya

for destruction

samṛddha

with full

vegāḥ

speed

tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās

tathā eva

similarly

nāśāya

for destruction

viśanti

are entering

lokāḥ

all people

tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ

tava

Your

api

also

vaktrāṇi

mouths

samṛddha - vegāḥ

with full speed .

Important Words

pradīptam — blazing
Past participle of pra-dīp, 'to flame forth.' Pra intensifies — not merely lit, but blazing high. The flame is at maximum draw.
jvalanam — fire
Neuter noun from jval, 'to burn.' The general word for fire; here it is the consuming aspect of the universal form.
pataṅgāḥ — moths
Nominative plural. The classical Indic example of self-destructive attraction — pataṅga appears in this sense throughout Sanskrit literature (Mahābhārata, Bhāgavatam, Bhartṛhari).
nāśāya — for destruction
Dative — 'for the sake of destruction.' Repeated twice in the verse. The grammar marks purpose: the moths' goal is destruction, and so is the warriors'.
samṛddha — with full
Past participle of sam-ṛdh, 'to grow completely.' Sam-ṛddha-vega is fully-grown speed — the warriors are at their peak strength precisely when they enter the mouths.
vegāḥ — speed
Nominative plural. Repeated with samṛddha. The vocabulary of energy is preserved — these are not sluggish creatures, they are at full pace.

I see all people rushing full speed into Your mouths, as moths dash to destruction in a blazing fire.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

29. As moths with increasing speed enter a blazing fire to meet their destruction, so men enter Your mouths with increasing speed to meet their destruction.

Commentary

lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāl

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya

Translation

29. As moths with increasing speed enter a blazing fire to meet their destruction, so men enter Your mouths with increasing speed to meet their destruction.

Commentary

Jvalanam means fire.

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

11.29 Yatha, as; patangah, moths, flying insects; visanti, enter; samrddha-vegah, with increased haste; into a pradiptam, glowing; jvalanam, fire; nasaya, for destruction; tatha eva, in that very way; do the lokah, creatures; visanti, enter into; tava, Your; vaktrani, mouths; api, too; samrddha-vegah, with increased hurry; nasaya, for destruction. You, again-

Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical

Translation

11.28 - 11.29 These innumerable kings rush to their destruction in Your flaming mouths, even as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean and moths rush into a blazing fire.

Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical

Translation

11.29 Sri Abhinavagupta did not comment upon this sloka.

Swami Sivananda Classical

Translation

11.29 As moths hurriedly rush into a blazing fire for (their own) destruction, so also these creatures hurriedly rush into Thy mouths for (their own) destruction.

Commentary

11.29 यथा as? प्रदीप्तम् blazing? ज्वलनम् fire? पतङ्गाः moths? विशन्ति enter? नाशाय to destruction? समृद्धवेगाः with ickened speed? तथा so? एव only? नाशाय to destruction? विशन्ति enter? लोकाः creatures? तव Thy? अपि also? वक्त्राणि mouths? समृद्धवेगाः with ickened speed.No Commentary.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical

Translation

11.29 As moths enter with increased haste into a glowing fire for destruction, in that very way do the creatures enter into Your mouths too, with increased hurry for destruction.

Shri Purohit Swami Classical

Translation

11.29 As moths fly impetuously to the flame only to be killed, so these men rush into Thy mouths to court their own destruction.

Related values & verses

Related verses

BG 11.28 BG 11.32 BG 16.19 SB 3.30.1 SB 10.1.24 SB 11.9.29 CC Madhya 20.117 CC Madhya 19.138 CC Ādi 5.26 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.5Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.8

Personal Guidance

As moths rush into the flames of fire to be destroyed — so all the worlds rush into Your mouths to be destroyed.

Practical Applications

See the moth-to-flame quality of material life.
Pause your own rushing toward what destroys.
Use this image to break automatic patterns.

Reflection Questions

What flame am I rushing toward as a moth?
What stops me midway?

Analogy

A moth flying into a flame does not see the flame as enemy; it sees only the light. So men rushing into the Lord's mouths do not see Death; they see what looks like glory. The image is not a slander on the warriors — it is a diagnosis of all material striving.

Stories

Hiraṇyakaśipu's Rush at Nṛsiṁha

When Hiraṇyakaśipu, in the height of his power, rushed at Lord Nṛsiṁha (SB 7.8) to destroy Him, he was not running away from death — he was running toward what he could not see was his end. The Bhāgavatam describes him as samṛddha-vega, full of momentum, rushing with sword raised.

Kṛṣṇa's image in 11.29 of moths racing into flames — pataṅgāḥ samṛddha-vegāḥ — captures the same pattern: full force, wrong direction, eager destruction. Material energy at peak is precisely what hurls itself into the Lord's mouths.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io