Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 16

Chapter 10 – Vibhuti Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

वक्तुमर्हस्यशेषेण दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः ।
याभिर्विभूतिभिर्लोकानिमांस्त्वं व्याप्य तिष्ठसि ॥

Transliteration

vaktumarhasyaśeṣeṇa divyā hyātmavibhūtayaḥ .
yābhirvibhūtibhirlokānimāṃstvaṃ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi ॥

Meaning

You alone can describe in full Your own divine glories, by which You pervade these worlds and abide in them.

Word meanings

वक्तुम् – to describe
अर्हसि – You are able, You should
अशेषेण – completely
दिव्याः – divine
हि – indeed
आत्मविभूतयः – Your own glories
याभिः – by which
विभूतिभिः – glories
लोकान् – worlds
इमान् – these
त्वम् – You
व्याप्य – pervading
तिष्ठसि – abide

Anvaya (word order)

याभिः विभूतिभिः त्वम् इमान् लोकान् व्याप्य तिष्ठसि, (ताः) दिव्याः आत्मविभूतयः हि अशेषेण वक्तुम् (त्वम्) अर्हसि ।

Explanation

After praise, Arjuna now makes his request. ‘You alone are able to describe them completely.’ In the previous verse he said that only the Lord knows Himself; it follows that only He can describe His own glory. No one else, not even a great sage, could tell it fully.

Divya hy atma-vibhutayah, ‘Your glories are divine’. The word vibhuti is formed from vi (special) and bhuti (being, splendour): the Lord’s special manifestation. Whatever in the world is supreme in its class reveals His radiance in a special way. These are what Arjuna wants to know.

Yabhir vibhutibhir lokan imams tvam vyapya tishthasi, ‘by which You pervade these worlds’. In chapter 9 Arjuna heard that the Lord pervades the whole world in His unmanifest form. But it is hard to meditate on the unmanifest. So he wants to know in what concrete forms the Lord shines forth, so that the mind can rest upon them.

Ramanuja notes that this request springs from devotion: one who loves the Lord longs to know every aspect of His glory, just as a lover is eager to know every detail, great and small, about the beloved.

Context

In verses 12 to 15 Arjuna praised the Lord. Here he begins his request that Krishna describe His glories completely. In the next verse he asks how he should meditate on the Lord and in what forms.

Life lesson

It is natural to want to know more about the one we love. Keep alive a curiosity about God’s greatness, and pray to Him that He reveal His nature to you.

Key terms

Vibhuti: the Lord’s special manifestation of glory
Asheshena: completely, leaving nothing out
Vyapya: pervading
Divya: divine, transcendent