Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 5

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
पश्य मे पार्थ रूपाणि शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः ।
नानाविधानि दिव्यानि नानावर्णाकृतीनि च ॥

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca .
paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi śataśo.atha sahasraśaḥ .
nānāvidhāni divyāni nānāvarṇākṛtīni ca ॥

Meaning

The Blessed Lord said: Behold, O Partha, My forms by the hundreds and thousands — divine, of many kinds, and of many colours and shapes.

Word meanings

पश्य – behold, see
मे – My
पार्थ – O son of Pritha (Arjuna)
रूपाणि – forms
शतशः – by hundreds
अथ – and
सहस्रशः – by thousands
नानाविधानि – of various kinds
दिव्यानि – divine
नानावर्णाकृतीनि – of various colours and shapes
च – and

Anvaya (word order)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच — हे पार्थ, मे शतशः अथ सहस्रशः नानाविधानि दिव्यानि नाना-वर्ण-आकृतीनि च रूपाणि पश्य ।

Explanation

Krishna answers Arjuna’s humble prayer not with conditions or further instruction but with one word: pashya, ‘behold!’ The word rings out again and again over the next four verses, as though the Lord were eager to show His dear friend everything. Arjuna asked for one form; Krishna offers forms ‘by the hundreds and thousands’. Such is divine generosity: the Lord gives far more than the devotee dares to ask.

These forms are nanavidha, diverse in kind, and nana-varnakriti, varied in colour and shape, yet every one of them is divya, divine. One reality appears in limitless variety. Shankara sees all these forms as appearances of the one Brahman through the Lord’s power of maya, behind which stands a single undivided being. Ramanuja regards them as real parts of the cosmos that is the Lord’s body, each wholly dependent on Him and each truly His. The two schools differ on the status of multiplicity, but agree that its ground is one.

Notice the possessive: me rupani, ‘My forms’. Whatever diversity exists belongs to no one else; it is all His. The Rig Vedic insight, ‘Truth is one; the wise call it by many names’, is about to become visible. The glories that were listed in words in chapter ten will now stand before Arjuna’s eyes all at once.

Context

Responding to Arjuna’s petition in 11.1–4, Krishna begins to speak. In verses 5 to 8 He invites Arjuna to look, and in verse 8 He grants the divine sight that makes looking possible.

Life lesson

God’s generosity exceeds our requests; a prayer made with humility never goes unanswered. Practise recognising the one Divine in the world’s endless variety — it dissolves prejudice and division.

Key terms

Partha: son of Pritha (Kunti); Arjuna
Divya: divine, luminous, beyond the ordinary
Nanavarnakriti: of many colours and shapes; the many within the One