FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 11.30

లేలిహ్యసే గ్రసమాన: సమన్తా- ల్ల‍ోకాన్సమగ్రాన్వదనైజ్‍‍ర్వలద్భ‍ిః । తేజోభిరాపూర్య జగత్సమగ్రం భాసస్తవోగ్రా: ప్రతపన్తి విష్ణో ॥ ౩౦ ॥
lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāl
[lelihyase grasamaanah samantaal]
lokān samagrān vadanair jvaladbhiḥ
[lokaan samagraan vadanair jvaladbhih]
tejobhir āpūrya jagat samagraṁ
[tejobhir aapoorya jagat samagram]
bhāsas tavogrāḥ pratapanti viṣṇo
[bhaasas tavograah pratapanti vishno]
Word-for-word
lelihyase — You are licking grasamānaḥ — devouring samantāt — from all directions lokān — people samagrān — all vadanaiḥ — by the mouths jvaladbhiḥ — blazing tejobhiḥ — by effulgence āpūrya — covering jagat — the universe samagram — all bhāsaḥ — rays tava — Your ugrāḥ — terrible pratapanti — are scorching viṣṇo — O all-pervading Lord .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāl
lelihyase
You are licking
grasamānaḥ
devouring
samantāt
from all directions
lokān samagrān vadanair jvaladbhiḥ
lokān
people
samagrān
all
vadanaiḥ
by the mouths
jvaladbhiḥ
blazing
tejobhir āpūrya jagat samagraṁ
tejobhiḥ
by effulgence
āpūrya
covering
jagat
the universe
samagram
all
bhāsas tavogrāḥ pratapanti viṣṇo
bhāsaḥ
rays
tava
Your
ugrāḥ
terrible
pratapanti
are scorching
viṣṇo
O all-pervading Lord .
Important Words
  • lelihyase — You are licking
    Third-person frequentative of lih — 'to lick repeatedly.' The intensive (yaṅluganta) form marks continuous, repeated action. The Lord is not licking once; He is in the perpetual mode of licking.
  • grasamānaḥ — devouring
    Present participle of gras, 'to swallow.' Continuous aspect — devouring while licking, not afterwards. Two simultaneous actions of the cosmic mouth.
  • samantāt — from all sides
    Adverb — 'all around.' The devouring is omni-directional; there is no safe approach.
  • vadanaiḥ — by mouths
    Instrumental plural of vadana. The mouths are now the instruments of the cosmic operation. In verses 10–11 they were ornaments of the body; here they are tools of consumption.
  • jvaladbhiḥ — blazing
    Instrumental plural participle of jval. Mouths that blaze even as they devour — fire and consumption are one act, not two.
  • pratapanti — they scorch
    Third-person plural of pra-tap, 'to burn with heat.' Verbal cousin of tejas (radiance). The cosmic radiance and the cosmic scorching are the same energy seen from two angles.
O Viṣṇu, I see You devouring all people from all sides with Your flaming mouths. Covering all the universe with Your effulgence, You are manifest with terrible, scorching rays.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
30. Swallowing all these men all around with Your fiery mouths, You are licking Your lips repeatedly. O Viṣṇu, Your fierce rays, filling the whole universe with their splendor, are burning it up.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
30. Swallowing all these men all around with Your fiery mouths, You are licking Your lips repeatedly. O Viṣṇu, Your fierce rays, filling the whole universe with their heat, are burning it up.
Commentary

Having described how the warriors enter the mouths of the universal form, Arjuna describes the effulgence coming from the form and how it spreads out. You swallow with Your fiery mouths all of them who entered swiftly, and lick your lips stained with their blood repeatedly in fury (samantāt). Your intense rays fill up and completely burn the universe with their intolerable heat. O Viṣṇu, You are spread through the universe! It is impossible to flee from You.

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
11.30 O Visnu, Your fierce rays are acorching. [M.S., S., and S.S. construe 'completely৷৷.heat' to alify 'fierce rays' in the second sentence. However, the use of kim ca (moreover) in the Comm. suggests the translation as above.-Tr.] Lelihyase, You lick Your lips, You taste; grasamanah, while devouring, while taking in; samagran, all; lokan, the creatures; samantat, from all sides; jvaladbhih, with flaming; vadanaih, mouths; which are apurya, completely filling; samagram, the whole- together (saha) with the foremost (agrena); jagat, world; tejobhih, with heat. Moreover, O Visnu, the all-pervading One, tava, Your; ugrah, fierce; bhasah, rays; are pratapanti, scorching. Since You are of such a terrible nature, therefore-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
11.30 Devouring all these kings with Your flaming mouths, You lick them up, namely, lick up again and again in great anger. Your lips etc., are wet with their blood. Your fiery rays scorch the universe by the brilliant flow of radiance filling the whole universe. You have manifested Yourself in this terrible form for revealing Your limitless sovereignty as reested by me thus: 'Reveal Yourself to me completely'(11.4), so that I may realise Your limitless sovereignty.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
11.30 Sri Abhinavagupta did not comment upon this sloka.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
11.30 Thou lickest up, devouring all the worlds on every side with Thy flaming mouths. Thy fierce rays, filling the whole world with radiance, are burning, O Vishnu!
Commentary

11.30 लेलिह्यसे (Thou) lickest? ग्रसमानः devouring? समन्तात् on every side? लोकान् the worlds? समग्रान् all? वदनैः with mouths? ज्वलद्भिः flaming? तेजोभिः with radiance? आपूर्य filling? जगत् the world? समग्रम् the whole? भासः rays? तव Thy? उग्राः fierce? प्रतपन्ति are burning? विष्णो O VishnuCommentary Vishnu means allpervading? Vyapanasila.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
11.30 You lick Your lips while devouring all the creatures from every side with flaming mouths which are completely filling the entire world with heat.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
11.30 Thou seemest to swallow up the worlds, to lap them in flame. Thy glory fills the universe. Thy fierce rays beat down upon it irresistibly.
Related values & verses
Related values
Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 11.32 BG 11.12 BG 11.17 SB 12.4.15 SB 3.11.30 SB 8.7.30 CC Madhya 20.296 CC Madhya 21.83 CC Madhya 20.323 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.3.3Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.2
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
You lick Your lips, devouring all the worlds with Your blazing mouths — Your terrible rays burn the whole universe.
Practical Applications
  • Receive the devouring aspect of time/cosmos as Kṛṣṇa's truth.
  • Don't sanitize destruction out of theology.
  • Honor the cosmic accountability.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have I sanitized cosmic accountability?
  • What does honoring it require?
Analogy

A lion licking its lips after the kill is satisfied; a fire licking the next branch is preparing the next consumption. The Lord's lelihyase is the second image, not the first — He does not rest after eating; the eating itself is continuous, an ongoing function of cosmic time.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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