Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 49

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

मा ते व्यथा मा च विमूढभावो
दृष्ट्वा रूपं घोरमीदृङ्ममेदम् ।
व्यपेतभीः प्रीतमनाः पुनस्त्वं
तदेव मे रूपमिदं प्रपश्य ॥

Transliteration

mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍhabhāvo dṛṣṭvā rūpaṃ ghoramīdṛṅmamedam .
vyapetabhīḥ prītamanāḥ punastvaṃ tadeva me rūpamidaṃ prapaśya ॥

Meaning

Do not be distressed, and do not be bewildered on seeing this terrible form of Mine. Free from fear and with a glad heart, behold once again that same form of Mine.

Word meanings

मा – let there not be
ते – your, for you
व्यथा – distress, anguish
मा च – and not
विमूढभावः – state of bewilderment
दृष्ट्वा – having seen
रूपम् – form
घोरम् – terrible
ईदृक् – such as this
मम – of Mine
इदम् – this
व्यपेतभीः – with fear gone
प्रीतमनाः – glad at heart
पुनः – again
त्वम् – you
तत् एव – that very same
मे – My
इदम् रूपम् – this form
प्रपश्य – behold fully

Anvaya (word order)

ईदृक् मम इदम् घोरम् रूपम् दृष्ट्वा ते व्यथा मा (भूत्), विमूढभावः च मा (भूत्); त्वम् व्यपेतभीः प्रीतमनाः पुनः तत् एव मे इदम् रूपम् प्रपश्य ।

Explanation

Few verses reveal the tenderness of Krishna as clearly as this one. Moments earlier He stood before Arjuna as world-devouring Time; now He speaks like a close friend soothing a frightened companion: ‘Do not be troubled, do not be confused.’ The cosmic Lord and the loving friend are one and the same.

Krishna removes two distinct afflictions. ‘Vyathā’ is emotional anguish — the trembling and dread Arjuna has confessed. ‘Vimūḍha-bhāva’ is a clouding of understanding, the loss of bearings that comes when the mind meets something far beyond its categories. The vision shook both Arjuna’s heart and his intellect, and the Lord now restores both, inviting him to look again ‘free from fear’ (vyapeta-bhīḥ) and ‘glad of mind’ (prīta-manāḥ).

‘Behold again that very form of Mine’ refers to the four-armed form Arjuna asked for, and beyond it to the familiar human Krishna, his friend and charioteer. Ramanuja insists that this gentle form is no lesser manifestation: it is equally divine and real, an expression of the Lord’s compassion for His devotees. Shankara also treats the return to the gentle form as an act of grace suited to Arjuna’s condition.

The spiritual message is profound. An encounter with God’s immensity can overwhelm, and awe has its place. But a lasting relationship with the Divine is founded not on terror but on love. The cosmic form showed Arjuna God’s infinity; the gentle form will give back to him God’s nearness.

Context

After stressing the rarity of the vision in 11.47–48, Krishna now grants the request Arjuna made in 11.45–46 and reassures him. In 11.50 Sanjaya will describe how Krishna actually resumed His gentle form and comforted the terrified Arjuna.

Life lesson

The nature of the Divine is to remove fear, not to impose it. Even after facing life’s vast and harsh realities, we can take refuge in God’s gentle, loving presence; devotion is meant to rest on trust and love rather than dread.

Key terms

Vyathā: anguish, distress born of fear
Vimūḍha-bhāva: bewilderment, loss of clear understanding
Prīta-manāḥ: with a gladdened, loving mind