Stories of the Great Bharata - A Retelling

Arc 2 - Bhagavad Gītā Parva - Chapter 16 - The Vision of the Universal Form (Bhagavad Gītā XI)

Viśvarūpa–Darśana Yoga

Vaiśampāyana said:

Having heard the sovereign secret of the Self, Arjuna’s delusion thinned like mist before the sun. Yet longing rose within him, O King Janamejaya, to behold with mortal eyes the Immortal—Śrī Bhagavān as He is, the One who wears the worlds as ornaments.

Arjuna asks to see the Sovereign Form

Arjuna said:

“O Lord of mystic power, Thy discourse on Adhyātma has steadied my mind. I have heard of the arising and dissolving of beings and of Thy undecaying greatness. If Thou deem me worthy, reveal Thy eternal, sovereign Self.”

Śrī Bhagavān said:

“Behold My forms by thousands bright—

Of hue and shape divinely rare;

Behold the Ādityas, Rudras, Maruts—

What none hath seen, behold them there.

“Here, in this very frame of Mine,

The moving and the still are one;

Yet mortal sight sufficeth not—

Take now the gods’ own eye, My son.”

The theophany unfolds

Vaiśampāyana said:

Then the Compassionate Lord bestowed celestial sight. In a single instant, the chariot-seat widened into a cosmos. Arjuna saw a blaze with faces on every side, uncounted eyes, jewelled diadems, uplifted weapons, garlands of heaven, unguents of paradise—wonders upon wonders, infinite.

If thousand suns at once should rise

And split the vault of day—

That glory might resemble His,

And yet fall dimmed away.

In that one body the son of Pṛthā beheld the entire universe—divided, subdivided, and gathered back into One.

Arjuna praises—and trembles

Arjuna said:

“I see, O God, all gods in Thee; the seers and radiant serpents; Brahmā on the lotus-seat. Without beginning, middle, end, Thou blazest with diadem, mace, and discus. Sun and Moon are Thy eyes; fire Thy mouth. Heaven and earth and the quarters are filled by Thee alone; the three worlds tremble at Thy fierce, marvellous form.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from NovelBin. Please report it.

“With countless arms and mighty tusks,

With throats of rushing flame,

Thou touchest heaven—my heart is rocked,

My courage not the same.

“Like rivers racing to the sea,

Like moths to leaping fire,

The kings, the hosts, to Thy wide mouths

Are drawn by fated wire.”

“Who art Thou in this consuming guise?” he cried. “Be gracious, O God of gods! I bow to Thee—the Primeval One—yet I cannot fathom Thy act.”

Time speaks

Śrī Bhagavān said:

“Time am I—World-destroyer—ripe,

Arisen for the end of men;

Without thy bow, these hosts would fall—

Arise, win glory, fight, and win.

“Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa—slain

By Me already in this war;

Be My instrument, strong-armed,

And fear not—thou shalt conquer sure.”

Vaiśampāyana said:

Hearing the Word that sunders ages, the diademed one bowed low, trembling, hands joined, his voice choked by awe.

Adoration, apology, and a plea

Arjuna said:

“It is meet, O Hṛṣīkeśa, that the worlds rejoice to praise Thee; the demons flee; the siddhas bow. Thou art greater than the Grandsire, primal cause, refuge of the universe—what is, what is not, and what surpasses both. O Vāyu, Yama, Agni, Varuṇa, Moon, Prajāpati—Thou art all these. A thousand times obeisance, and again!

“If, in love or ignorance, I ever said ‘O Kṛṣṇa, O Yādava, O friend,’ in jest or in familiar ease—pardon, O Immeasurable. Be as a father to his child, a friend to his friend, a lover to his beloved. This fearful Form shakes my mind. Show me Thy gentle human beauty once again—crowned, with mace and discus—the four-armed grace.”

The Lord consoles and withdraws the Vision

Śrī Bhagavān said:

“Pleased with thee, Arjuna, I have shown, by My own Yoga, this universal, primeval glory unseen before by mortal eyes. Not by Veda, gift, rite, nor austerity is this Form beheld. Let no fear be thine. Behold Me now in My gentle guise.”

Vaiśampāyana said:

So speaking, Śrī Bhagavān resumed His tender, human form—the Friend of the worlds—stilling Arjuna’s fear and setting his heart at rest.

Arjuna said:

“Seeing Thy fair human form again, O Janārdana, my mind is steady; my nature has returned.”

The rare vision and the sure path

Śrī Bhagavān said:

“Hard is this Form for gods to see,

Not won by gift or searing vow;

By single-hearted reverence

I’m known and seen and entered—now.

“Who works for Me, who makes Me goal,

From clinging free, toward all benign—

That yogin, hating none that lives,

Comes unto Me and makes Me thine.”

Vaiśampāyana said:

Thus was the Viśvarūpa revealed and veiled—the Form that contains all forms. Arjuna learned that battle and peace alike move within Time, and that beyond Time stands the Friend: Śrī Bhagavān, who asks of man not terror but a whole and undivided heart.