English
49 I am the soul, O Arjuna! which exists in the hearts of all beings, and I am the beginning and the middle, and also the end, of existing things. Among the Adityas, I am Vishnu. Among luminous bodies, I am the beaming sun. T am Marichi among the Maruts ; among lunar mansions, I am the mansion of the moon. Of the Vedas I am the Sama-veda. Among the inferior gods, I am Vasava ; and among senses, I am the heart. Among material principles, I am intellect ; and among the Rudras, I am Shankara. Kuvera, among Yakslias and Rakshasas ; and among Vasus, I am fire ; Meru, among mountain-peaks. And know, 0 son of Pritha ! that I am Vrihaspati, the chief of household priests. Among generals, I am Skanda; among pieces of water, the ocean ; among Maharshis, I am Blirigu ; among words, the mono- syllable ‘Om’; among forms of worship, the silent worship; among mountain ranges, the Himalaya. The sacred fig-tree, among all trees ; and among Devarsliis, Narada. Among Gandharvas, Chitraratha ; among the perfect, Kapila, the Muni. Know that among horses I am Uchchaislishravasa, sprung from ambrosia ; Airavata among elephants, and among men, the king. I am the thunderbolt among weapons ; among cows, Kamaduk. And I am the procreator, Kandarpa. Among serpents, I am •Vasuki. And I am Ananta among Nagas ; Vanina, among inhabitants of the water. And among the Pitris I am Aryaman ; Yama, among correctors. And I am Pralilada among the Daityas ; Time among things which count. And among animals, I am the lion ; and Vainateya among birds. I am the wind among purifiers ; Rama among soldiers. And among fishes I am the Makara. I am the Ganges among rivers. And of creations I am the beginning, the end, and the middle, Arjuna ; the knowledge of the Adhyatma, among sciences; and (human) speech, among sounds of utterance. And I am the letter A among letters, the combination itself of a compound word. I am also eternal time. I am the preserver who watches in all directions. And I am Death, who seizes all, and the Birth of those who are to be; — Fame, Fortune and Speech, Memory, Meditation, Perseverance and Patience among feminine words. I am the Vrihatsaman among the hymns (of the Sama-Veda); the Gayatri among rhymes. Among months I am Marga-shirsha ; among seasons, the fluwery spring. I am the game of dice among things which deceive ; splendour itself among’ E 50 bhagavad-gItA. chapter tiie tenth. splendid things. I am victory ; I am perseverance. I am the goodness of the good. Among the descendants of Vrishni, I am Vasudeva ; among the Pandavas, Aijuna. Among Munis also, I am the Vyasa ; among poets, the poet Ushanas. The rod among tamers ami; I am polity, among means of victory. And I am silence, too, among mysteries ; the knowledge of the wise. And I am that which is the seed of all existing things, 0 Aijuna ! There exists no one thing, movable or immovable, which is without me. There is no end of my divine virtues, 0 harasser of thy foes I but I have made this extended narration of my pre-eminence by way of instance. Whatever is pre- eminent, or the essence (of anything), fortunate or mighty also, do thou understand, in truth, to be sprung from part of my energy. But what, indeed, hast thou to do, Arjuna, with so much knowledge as all this? (One sentence comprehends it all — viz.,) I have established, and continue to establish, all this universe by one portion of myself.” Thus in the Upanishads, etc., (stands) the Tenth Chapter, by name “ devotion to the divine virtues.” COMMENTARY. reason. I will do as you wish. There is no limit to my nature. I am the first and the last. I am everywhere the highest and best.* * The rest of this chapter is purely theological, and as such needs no comment. CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. TEXT. ARJUNA SPOKE. <{ My delusion has been dispersed by the words which thou hast spoken for my good, (concerning) that highest mystery called the Adhyatma. For I have heard at full length from thee, 0 thou whose eyes are like lotus-leaves ! the origin and dissolution of existing things, and also thy inexhaustible greatness. I desire, O highest Lord ! to behold thy sovereign form, even as thou hast thus declared thyself to be, O best of men ! If thou thinkest that that form is possible for me to look upon, master I do thou, Lord of Devotion! show thine inexhaustible self to me.” COMMENTARY. MIND. I now understand the mystery of the Supreme Soul. I most desire to see God in His immaterial form. TEXT. KRISHNA SPOKE. “ Behold my forms, 0 son of Pritlia ! in hundreds and thousands of divers kinds, heavenly, and of divers colours and fashions. Behold Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, the twin Asliwinau, and the Maruts. Behold many wonders, which thou hast never seen before, son of Bharata ! Here in my body now behold the whole universe in a collective form, with movable and immovable objects, and whatever else thou wouldest behold ! But thou wilt not be able to behold me merely with this (human) eye of thine. I give thee a divine eye. Behold my sovereign mystery.” 52 BHAGAVAD-GfTi. CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. COMMENTARY. REASON. It is impossible to beliold God in His state of universality and omni- presence. TEXT. SANJAYA SPOKE. “ Having thus spoken, 0 king ! Hari, the mighty lord of devotion, showed to the son of Pritha his sovereign form, gifted with many mouths and eyes, with many wonderful appearances, with many divine ornaments, and holding many celestial weapons, wearing celestial wreaths and robes, anointed with celestial perfumes, the all-miraculous infinite deity, with his face turned in all directions. If the light of a thousand suns were to break forth in the sky at the same time, it would he similar to the brilliance of that mighty one. There did the son of Pandu then behold the whole universe, so multifariously distributed, collected in one in the person of the god of gods. Thereupon the despiser of wealth, struck with amazement, and with his hair standing on end, saluted the god by bowing his head, folded his hands reveren- tially, and spoke as follows ” : — * ARJUNA SPOKE. €t I behold all the gods in thy body, 0 god 1 and crowds of different beings, the lord Brahma on a throne of a lotus-cup, and all the Bisliis and celestial serpents. I see tbee with many arms, stomachs, mouths, and eyes, everywhere of infinite form. I see neither end, nor middle, nor yet beginning of thee, 0 Lord of All I of the form of All ! crowned with a diadem, bearing a club, and a discus. I see thee, a mass of light, beaming everywhere, hard to look upon, bright as a kindled fire or the sun, on all sides immeasurable. I believe thee to be the indivisible, the highest object of knowledge, the supreme receptacle of this universe, the imperishable preserver of eternal law, the everlasting person. I see thee without beginning, middle, or end, of infinite strength, with the sun and moon as eyes, mouths like a kindled fire, heating all the universe with thy splendour. For this space between heaven and earth, and * This language is highly poetical ; it establishes the omnipresence of the Deity. BHAGAVAD-odTii. CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. 53 every quarter of heaven, are pervaded by thee alone. The triple world is astounded, 0 mighty one ! having beheld this miraculous and terrific form of thine. For these crowds of Suras turn to thee (as their refuge). Some, affrighted, murmur with folded hands. The * multitudes of Maharshis and Siddhas praise thee in most excellent hymns, crying, ‘ Hail to thee ! ’ Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, and all the S&dhyas, Vishwas^ the twin Ashwinau, and Maruts and Ushmapas, the crowds of Gand- harvas, Yakshas, Asuras, and Siddhas behold thee, and are all amazed. Having seen thy mighty form, with many mouths and eyes, O great- armed one ! and with many arms, thighs, and feet, many stomachs and many projecting teeth, the worlds and I, too, are astounded. For since I have seen thee, touching the skies (in height), beaming with divers colours, with open mouth, and huge glittering eyes, my inmost soul is troubled, and I lose both my firmness and tranquillity, 0 Yishnu ! I cease to recognize the regions of heaven, and experience no joy, merely from beholding thy mouths with their projecting teeth, like the fire of death. Be merciful, O Lord of gods ! habitation of the universe ! and all these sons of Dhritarashtra, together with multitudes of the kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona, and yon son of a charioteer, together with our principal warriors also, — hasten to enter thy mouths, formidable with projecting teeth. Some are seen clinging in the interstices between thy teeth, with their heads ground down. As many torrents of rivers flow down direct even to the ocean, these heroes of the human race enter thy flaming mouths. As flies, carried away by a strong impetus, fly into a lighted candle to their own destruction, even multitudes (of beings), impelled by a strong impetus, enter thy mouth also for destruction. Devouring all inhabitants of the world from every quarter, thou lickest them in thy flaming lips. Filling the whole universe with thy splen- dour, thy sharp beams bum, 0 Vishnu ! Tell me who thou art, of awful form. Salutation to thee, 0 best of gods ! Be merciful ! I desire to know thee, the primeval one, for I cannot divine what thou art about.”* KRISHNA SPOKE. “I am Death, that causes the destruction of mankind, (already) mature. I am come hither to destroy mankind. Not one, except thee, * This is quitef theological. 54 BHAGAVAD-afTA. CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. of the warriors who are here drawn up in their respective armies, will survive. Therefore do thou arise and seize glory ! Conquer thy foes and enjoy the ample kingdom. I also have already slain these enemies. Be thou only the instrument, O left-handed one!