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Chapter 11 · Verse 23 · Vishwaroopa Darshana Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 11.23

transformative Fear & Courage Bhakti & Devotion Jnana & Wisdom

Sanskrit

रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम्। बहूदरं बहुदंष्ट्राकरालं दृष्ट्वा लोकाः प्रव्यथितास्तथाऽहम्।।11.23।।

Transliteration

rūpaṁ mahat te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam bahūdaraṁ bahu-danṣhṭrā-karālaṁ dṛiṣhṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham

Word by Word

rūpam form
mahat magnificent
te your
bahu many
vaktra mouths
netram eyes
mahā-bāho mighty-armed Lord
bahu many
bāhu arms
ūru thighs
pādam legs
bahu-udaram many stomachs
bahu-danṣhṭrā many teeth
karālam terrifying
dṛiṣhṭvā seeing
lokāḥ all the worlds
pravyathitāḥ terror-stricken
tathā so also
aham I
Simplified Perspective

Arjuna beholds the Cosmic Form in its terrible majesty—countless faces, eyes, and weapons emanating from Krishna's infinite being. This vision pierces through the veil of personal relationship into the raw reality of divinity: simultaneously creative and destructive, merciful and fierce.

The fear that grips Arjuna, and through him all beings, is the soul's recognition that it stands before the totality of existence—nothing hidden, nothing spared. In our modern life, this teaches us that true spiritual awakening requires us to release our comfortable, sanitized image of God and reality, and face the vast, humbling truth of what actually is.

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 11.23 — BG 11.23

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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