Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 3

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर ।
द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम ॥

Transliteration

evametadyathāttha tvamātmānaṃ parameśvara .
draṣṭumicchāmi te rūpamaiśvaraṃ puruṣottama ॥

Meaning

O Supreme Lord, it is exactly as You have described Yourself. Yet, O Supreme Person, I long to see Your divine, sovereign form.

Word meanings

एवम् – thus, just so
एतत् – this
यथा – as
आत्थ – You declare
त्वम् – You
आत्मानम् – Yourself
परमेश्वर – O Supreme Lord
द्रष्टुम् – to see
इच्छामि – I wish
ते – Your
रूपम् – form
ऐश्वरम् – lordly, divine, full of sovereignty
पुरुषोत्तम – O Supreme Person

Anvaya (word order)

हे परमेश्वर, त्वम् आत्मानम् यथा आत्थ, एतत् एवम् (एव) । हे पुरुषोत्तम, ते ऐश्वरम् रूपम् द्रष्टुम् इच्छामि ।

Explanation

Faith and longing meet in this verse. Arjuna begins by affirming, evam etad yathattha — ‘it is just as You say.’ His request therefore does not come from doubt; he is not asking for proof. Shankara stresses this: Arjuna fully accepts Krishna’s words, and asks only to behold with his eyes the majesty he already believes in.

The aishvara rupa is the form in which the Lord’s sovereign powers — knowledge, strength, might, energy, splendour — stand fully revealed. In chapter ten Krishna listed His glories one by one; now Arjuna wants to see them all at once. Hearing unfolds in sequence, but seeing is simultaneous. That difference is the heart of his longing.

The two names he uses are significant. Parameshvara is the supreme controller he has heard about. Purushottama, the highest Person, anticipates 15.18, where Krishna will explain that He transcends both the perishable and the imperishable. Ramanuja reads the request as a desire to see the Lord as the indwelling Self of the entire cosmos, bearing the universe as His body. Madhva sees in it the natural yearning of the devotee: having come to love the Lord through His words, one wishes to behold Him. In every reading, the request flows from relationship, not curiosity.

Context

After recalling what he has heard in verse 2, Arjuna now states his central wish. In verse 4 he will repeat it with even greater humility, leaving the decision entirely to Krishna.

Life lesson

Faith and inquiry are not enemies; genuine faith moves naturally toward experience. Let questions and prayers rise from trust and love, not from suspicion.

Key terms

Parameshvara: the Supreme Lord and ruler of all
Aishvara Rupa: the divine form displaying the Lord’s sovereign powers
Purushottama: the Supreme Person, beyond the perishable and imperishable (15.18)