Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 50

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Sanjaya

Sanskrit verse

सञ्जय उवाच ।
इत्यर्जुनं वासुदेवस्तथोक्त्वा
स्वकं रूपं दर्शयामास भूयः ।
आश्वासयामास च भीतमेनं
भूत्वा पुनः सौम्यवपुर्महात्मा ॥

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca .
ityarjunaṃ vāsudevastathoktvā svakaṃ rūpaṃ darśayāmāsa bhūyaḥ .
āśvāsayāmāsa ca bhītamenaṃ bhūtvā punaḥ saumyavapurmahātmā ॥

Meaning

Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Arjuna, Vasudeva showed again His own form; and the great-souled One, assuming once more His gentle shape, comforted the terrified Arjuna.

Word meanings

इति – thus
अर्जुनम् – to Arjuna
वासुदेवः – Vasudeva, Krishna; the Lord who dwells in all
तथा – in that way
उक्त्वा – having spoken
स्वकम् – His own
रूपम् – form
दर्शयामास – showed
भूयः – again
आश्वासयामास – consoled, reassured
च – and
भीतम् – frightened
एनम् – him
भूत्वा – having become
पुनः – once more
सौम्यवपुः – of gentle, pleasing form
महात्मा – the great-souled One

Anvaya (word order)

सञ्जयः उवाच — वासुदेवः अर्जुनम् इति तथा उक्त्वा भूयः स्वकम् रूपम् दर्शयामास; च महात्मा पुनः सौम्यवपुः भूत्वा भीतम् एनम् आश्वासयामास ।

Explanation

Sanjaya, who is witnessing everything through the divine sight granted by Vyasa, now tells Dhritarashtra how the cosmic vision drew to a close. Having reassured Arjuna, Krishna revealed again ‘svakaṁ rūpam’, His own personal form. The name Vāsudeva is apt here: He is the son of Vasudeva, and He is also the Lord who abides in all beings. The One in whom the entire universe had just been displayed now stands before Arjuna once more as friend and charioteer.

The verse seems to describe two steps: ‘He showed His own form’ and ‘He became gentle in form again’. Many commentators take this to mean that Krishna first displayed the four-armed Vishnu form that Arjuna had requested in 11.46, and then resumed His familiar two-armed human form. Others read both phrases as describing a single gentle form. Either way, the heart of the matter is the same: the Lord took the form His devotee longed to see.

‘He comforted the frightened one’ — and the epithet ‘mahātmā’, great-souled, is deeply moving in this setting. The Almighty makes Himself simple, close and tender in order to dispel the fear of the one who loves Him. This is true greatness: power that bends down in compassion.

The verse also teaches that all the Lord’s forms are equally real. The universal form reveals His all-pervasiveness; the gentle form reveals His accessibility. A devotee needs both — the first awakens reverence, the second nourishes love.

Context

In 11.49 Krishna told Arjuna to set aside fear and behold His former form. Here Sanjaya narrates the fulfilment of that promise. In the next verse (11.51) Arjuna will say that, seeing this gentle human form, he has regained his composure and his natural state.

Life lesson

Real greatness reassures rather than intimidates. Just as the Lord clothed His infinite power in a gentle, approachable form, we too should use whatever strength we have to calm others’ fears and ease their pain.

Key terms

Vāsudeva: Krishna, son of Vasudeva; the Lord who dwells in all beings
Saumya-vapuḥ: a gentle, serene and lovely form
Mahātmā: great-souled; here the compassionate Lord