Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 39

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

वायुर्यमोऽग्निर्वरुणः शशाङ्कः
प्रजापतिस्त्वं प्रपितामहश्च ।
नमो नमस्तेऽस्तु सहस्रकृत्वः
पुनश्च भूयोऽपि नमो नमस्ते ॥

Transliteration

vāyuryamo.agnirvaruṇaḥ śaśāṅkaḥ prajāpatistvaṃ prapitāmahaśca .
namo namaste.astu sahasrakṛtvaḥ punaśca bhūyo.api namo namaste ॥

Meaning

You are Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna and the moon; You are Prajapati and the great-grandsire. Salutations, salutations to You a thousand times, and again and yet again salutations, salutations to You.

Word meanings

वायुः – Vayu, the wind-god
यमः – Yama, the controller, lord of death
अग्निः – Agni, the fire-god
वरुणः – Varuna, lord of the waters
शशाङ्कः – the moon
प्रजापतिः – Prajapati, lord of creatures
त्वम् – You
प्रपितामहः – the great-grandsire, father even of Brahma
च – and
नमः नमः – salutation, salutation
ते – to You
अस्तु – be
सहस्रकृत्वः – a thousand times
पुनः – again
भूयः अपि – yet again

Anvaya (word order)

त्वम् वायुः यमः अग्निः वरुणः शशाङ्कः प्रजापतिः प्रपितामहः च (असि) । ते सहस्रकृत्वः नमः नमः अस्तु, पुनः च भूयः अपि ते नमः नमः ।

Explanation

Arjuna recognises every deity appearing within the cosmic form as the one Lord. Vayu sustains breath and life; Yama governs order and death; Agni is the mouth of sacrifice; Varuna guards the waters and cosmic law; the moon nourishes the plants. These are the great gods of the Vedic world, and Arjuna says simply: they are You. Chapter 10’s teaching on divine manifestations has become visible fact.

Prajapati may mean Brahma as the multiplier of creation, or the lineage of progenitors such as Kashyapa. Prapitamaha, ‘great-grandsire’, is carefully chosen. Brahma is called the grandsire of all beings, since the progenitors spring from him and creatures from them; the Lord is the father even of Brahma, and so the great-grandfather of all. Shankara explains it exactly so.

The schools frame the identity differently. For Advaita these gods are one Brahman seen through particular adjuncts; for Ramanuja they are the Lord’s body, and He is their inner controller; for Madhva they are wholly dependent on Him, act by His power, and their names ultimately point to Him. All agree with 9.23: whatever god is worshipped, the final receiver of worship is the Supreme.

The second half shows language reaching its limit. ‘Namo namah’ is repeated — a thousand times, again, and once more. A heart overflowing with awe cannot argue its way to expression; it can only bow, and bow again.

Context

After calling the Lord the supreme refuge and the knowable in 11.38, Arjuna now sees all the Vedic gods as His forms and bows repeatedly. In 11.40 he will offer salutations from every direction.

Life lesson

Wherever we meet power, light or order, we can learn to see the one Supreme. When words fail, repeated, humble bowing becomes the truest prayer.

Key terms

Prajapati: lord of creatures, agent of creation
Prapitamaha: great-grandsire, father of Brahma himself
Sahasrakritvah: a thousand times, countless times