Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 27

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति
दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि ।
केचिद्विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु
सन्दृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गैः ॥

Transliteration

vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṃṣṭrākarālāni bhayānakāni .
kecidvilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitairuttamāṅgaiḥ ॥

Meaning

They rush headlong into Your fearful mouths, terrible with tusks; and some are seen caught between Your teeth, their heads crushed to powder.

Word meanings

वक्त्राणि – into the mouths
ते – Your
त्वरमाणाः – hurrying, rushing
विशन्ति – enter
दंष्ट्राकरालानि – dreadful with tusks
भयानकानि – terrifying
केचित् – some
विलग्नाः – stuck, caught
दशनान्तरेषु – between the teeth
सन्दृश्यन्ते – are seen
चूर्णितैः – crushed to powder
उत्तमाङ्गैः – with their heads (the highest limbs)

Anvaya (word order)

(ते सर्वे) त्वरमाणाः ते दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि वक्त्राणि विशन्ति; केचित् चूर्णितैः उत्तमाङ्गैः दशनान्तरेषु विलग्नाः सन्दृश्यन्ते ।

Explanation

The sentence begun in verse 26 is completed here: all those warriors, tvaramāṇāḥ, in great haste, are entering the Lord’s terrible mouths. The word is significant. No one is dragging them; they run of their own accord. Beings are carried toward Time by the momentum of their own karma and destiny.

The image is stark: some are seen lodged between the teeth, their heads crushed. The head is called uttamāṅga, the highest limb, because it is the seat of intellect and the senses. It is precisely this, the centre of pride and power, that is ground to dust. The Gita presents the scene not to terrify but to reveal truth: for one who is born, death is certain (2.27).

Philosophically the verse prepares for what follows. In the next two verses Arjuna offers similes: as rivers race to the ocean, and as moths fly into a blazing flame, so these warriors pour into Your mouths. One image speaks of natural return to the source, the other of destruction through delusion.

Shankara treats the scene as a direct vision of future events, granted to remove Arjuna’s grief and confusion. Ramanuja stresses that the Lord is the controller who dispenses the fruit of everyone’s actions; without His will no one lives or dies. Madhva likewise sees in it Vishnu’s absolute sovereignty over all beings. Thus Arjuna comes to see that the outcome of the battle is settled by the divine order, not by his own decision, preparing him for Krishna’s call to be merely the instrument.

Context

This verse completes the sentence of verse 26, which named the warriors of both armies. In verses 28 and 29 Arjuna will clarify the scene with the similes of rivers flowing into the sea and moths rushing into a flame.

Life lesson

No one, however powerful, escapes death and change. Accepting this truth helps us let go of pride and devote each moment of life to duty and devotion.

Key terms

Tvaramāṇa: hurrying, rushing headlong
Daśanāntara: the space between the teeth
Uttamāṅga: the highest limb; the head
Cūrṇita: crushed to powder