Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 9

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Sanjaya

Sanskrit verse

सञ्जय उवाच ।
एवमुक्त्वा ततो राजन्महायोगेश्वरो हरिः ।
दर्शयामास पार्थाय परमं रूपमैश्वरम् ॥

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca .
evamuktvā tato rājanmahāyogeśvaro hariḥ .
darśayāmāsa pārthāya paramaṃ rūpamaiśvaram ॥

Meaning

Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, O King, Hari, the great Lord of Yoga, then revealed to Partha His supreme and sovereign form.

Word meanings

एवम् – thus
उक्त्वा – having spoken
ततः – then
राजन् – O King (Dhritarashtra)
महायोगेश्वरः – the great Lord of Yoga
हरिः – Hari, the remover of sin and sorrow
दर्शयामास – showed, revealed
पार्थाय – to Partha (Arjuna)
परमम् – supreme
रूपम् – form
ऐश्वरम् – sovereign, divine

Anvaya (word order)

सञ्जयः उवाच — राजन्, एवम् उक्त्वा ततः महा-योग-ईश्वरः हरिः पार्थाय परमम् ऐश्वरम् रूपम् दर्शयामास ।

Explanation

The narrative thread now passes to Sanjaya. The dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna pauses, and Sanjaya — himself watching through the divine sight granted by Vyasa — tells Dhritarashtra what happened next. The description of the cosmic form begins in Sanjaya’s words (11.9–14) before Arjuna speaks of it, so the vision is attested by two witnesses gifted with divine sight.

Mahayogeshvara Hari: the epithet is deliberate. In verse 4 Arjuna had called Krishna Yogeshvara; now Sanjaya calls Him the great Lord of Yoga, for what He is about to do lies beyond the power of any yogi. The name Hari means ‘the one who takes away’ — the remover of the sins, sorrows and ignorance of His devotees. It is He who has taken away Arjuna’s delusion.

Darshayamasa, ‘He showed.’ The order matters: first the divine eye, then the form; first fitness, then vision. Both Shankara and Ramanuja agree that the revelation happens by the Lord’s own will and grace, not by any power Arjuna possessed independently.

Sanjaya’s address, ‘O King’, carries a quiet irony. Dhritarashtra is blind both in body and in his attachment to his sons. Sanjaya seems to be hinting that the Krishna against whom his sons are fighting is the Supreme Lord Himself. Yet without inner sight, even this truth cannot reach the old king’s heart — a reminder that revelation requires a receptive eye.

Context

In verse 8 Krishna gave Arjuna divine sight. Here Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that the Lord then revealed His supreme form. In the following verses (11.10–14) Sanjaya describes that cosmic form.

Life lesson

God first makes us fit and then reveals the truth; attend to your preparation and leave the result to Him. A mind blinded by attachment cannot see truth even when it stands before it, so work to loosen the grip of attachment.

Key terms

Mahayogeshvara: the great Lord of all yogis and all yogic power
Hari: the one who removes sin, sorrow and ignorance; a name of Vishnu/Krishna
Parama Aishvara Rupa: the supreme sovereign form; the cosmic form