Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 23

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं
महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम् ।
बहूदरं बहुदंष्ट्राकरालं
दृष्ट्वा लोकाः प्रव्यथितास्तथाहम् ॥

Transliteration

rūpaṃ mahatte bahuvaktranetraṃ mahābāho bahubāhūrupādam .
bahūdaraṃ bahudaṃṣṭrākarālaṃ dṛṣṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitāstathāham ॥

Meaning

O Mighty-armed One, seeing Your immense form with many mouths and eyes, many arms, thighs and feet, many bellies and many terrible tusks, the worlds are terrified, and so am I.

Word meanings

रूपम् – form
महत् – immense
ते – Your
बहुवक्त्रनेत्रम् – with many mouths and eyes
महाबाहो – O Mighty-armed One
बहुबाहूरुपादम् – with many arms, thighs and feet
बहूदरम् – with many bellies
बहुदंष्ट्राकरालम् – dreadful with many tusks
दृष्ट्वा – having seen
लोकाः – the worlds, all beings
प्रव्यथिताः – terrified, deeply distressed
तथा – likewise
अहम् – I (too)

Anvaya (word order)

महाबाहो, ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रम् बहुबाहूरुपादम् बहूदरम् बहुदंष्ट्राकरालम् महत् रूपम् दृष्ट्वा लोकाः प्रव्यथिताः, तथा अहम् (अपि) ।

Explanation

Here Arjuna’s voice changes. Until now he has reported the reactions of others: the gods are amazed, the sages sing, the worlds tremble. At the end of this verse, for the first time, he includes himself: tathāham, ‘and so am I.’ The warrior who once fought Shiva himself now confesses fear.

The description dwells on bahu, multiplicity, limb by limb: many mouths, eyes, arms, thighs, feet, bellies and tusks. The Purusha Sukta’s thousand-headed, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed Person comes alive. The faces, eyes and limbs of all creatures belong to the one Being. For Shankara this shows the one Self appearing through all bodies; for Ramanuja it shows that the whole universe is the body of the Lord, real and dependent on Him.

But the terrible tusks signal that this is also the form of Time, which devours everything. The image prepares for verse 32, where Krishna will declare, ‘I am Time, the destroyer of worlds.’ The very multiplicity that was wondrous in verse 16 now appears menacing, as Arjuna sees not only the abundance of life but its consumption.

There is a touching detail in the address mahābāho, ‘Mighty-armed One’. Krishna habitually uses this word for Arjuna throughout the Gita. Now Arjuna turns it back upon the Lord, whose arms are numberless. In the moment of fear he reaches for a familiar word, as if trying to find his friend within the overwhelming vision.

Context

Through verse 22 Arjuna described the responses of celestial beings; in this verse he first admits his own terror. In verse 24 he goes further, saying he has lost both courage and peace.

Life lesson

True courage lies not in denying fear but in honestly admitting it. When we recognise our limits, the path to taking refuge in a higher power opens.

Key terms

Bahu-vaktra-netra: having many mouths and eyes
Daṃṣṭrā-karāla: dreadful with tusks
Mahābāhu: mighty-armed, an epithet of strength
Pravyathita: deeply shaken and distressed