THE REVELATION OF THE LORD
sri bhagavaan uvaacha
pashya me paartha roopaani shatasho'tha sahasrashah
naanaavidhaani divyaani naanaavarnaakriteeni cha // 11.5 //
Sri Bhagavan said
Behold, O Partha, by hundreds and thousands, My different forms celestial, varied in colors and shapes.
To see gold in different types of ornaments is easy because it involves mere physical perception. But to see different types of ornaments in total gold is comparatively difficult because it requires the vision of the intellect. Similarly, Sri Krishna helped Arjuna to gain the necessary insight to enable him to perceive The Lord, who is already in front of him, in the form he desired. Sri Krishna did not transform Himself in the cosmic form but only bestowed His grace on Arjuna to enable him to perceive the Divine form of The Lord and hence Sri Krishna says `Behold'. The stupendous self-revelation of Divine power is manifested to Arjuna who understands the true meaning of the cosmic process and destiny. The vision is not a myth or a legend but spiritual experience.
pashyaadityaan vasoon rudraan ashwinau marutas thathaa
bahoonyadrishtapoorvaani pashyaa'shcharyaani bhaarata // 11.6 //
Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the (two) Ashwins and also the Maruts; behold many wonders never seen before, O Bharata.
The Lord enumerates the most important and striking factors to be seen in His Cosmic Form. The various forms mentioned here were already explained in the previous Chapter except the term Ashwins. There are various interpretations about the twins, Ashwini Kumars. They are called Dawn and Dusk or Morning and Evening stars.
ihai'kastham jagatkritsnam pashyaadya sacharaacharam
mama dehe gudaakesha yacchaanyad drashtumicchasi // 11.7 //
Now behold today, O Gudakesa, the whole universe of the moving and the unmoving and whatever else you desire to see, all concentrated in My Body.
The entire universe comprising of both moving and static objects and beings is being shown by Sri Krishna as compressed within the frame work of His own physical structure. As explained earlier the concept of space as a divider between objects is being removed from Arjuna's mind by The Lord leaving in him the concept of `total space’ which is equivalent to Sri Krishna’s own physical dimensions. It is the vision of all in the One.
na tu maam shakyase drashtum anenaiva swachakshushaa
divyam dadaami te chakshuh pashya me yogamaishwaram // 11.8 //
But with these your own eyes you cannot see Me; I give you the divine eye; behold now My sovereign Yoga power.
It was already explained under verse 5 that to see many in the one requires right intellectual power through philosophical understanding. The Lord says that Arjuna cannot see Him in the Cosmic Form with his own fleshy eyes (Mamsa Chakshu) and hence gives him the divine eye (Divya Chakshu). Human eyes can see only the outward forms, the inner soul is perceived by the eye of the Spirit.
There is a type of knowledge that we can acquire by our own efforts, knowledge based on the perceptions by the senses and intellectual activity. Another kind of knowledge is possible when we are under the influence of grace, a direct knowledge of spiritual realities. The god-vision is a gift of God. All these indicate the unity of the cosmic manifold in the Divine nature.
The vision is not a mental construction but the disclosure of a truth from beyond the finite mind. The spontaneity and directness of the experience is highlighted here.
SANJAYA DESCRIBES THE FORM
sanjaya uvaacha
evam uktwaa tato raajan mahaa yogeshwaro harih
darshayaamaasa paarthaaya paramam roopamaishwaram // 11.9 //
Sanjaya said
Having spoken thus, O King, the great Lord of yoga, Hari revealed to Partha His supreme and divine form.
King: This verse is addressed to Dhritarashtra by Sanjaya. Hari: The one who maintains the champions of Truth by destroying the powers of falsehood. Sanjaya now starts describing the list of things that were visible within the frame work of The Lord.
anekavaktra nayanam anekaadbhuta darshanam
anekadivyaabharanam divyaanekodyataayudham // 11.10 //
With many faces and eyes, with many wonderful sights, with many divine ornaments, with many divine weapons uplifted (such a form He showed)
divyamaalyaambaradharam divyagandhaanulepanam
sarvaashcharyamayam devam anantam vishwatomukham // 11.11 //
Wearing divine garlands and apparel anointed with divine perfumes and creams the all-wonderful, resplendent, endless, with face turned everywhere.
Total cosmos is not a subject matter that is amenable for easy mental comprehension. Sanjaya therefore stumbles for words to give its description. He means to say that Arjuna looked at this Cosmic Form in all its magnificence and saw The Lord everywhere, at all times and in every thing indicating that He is beyond the three limitations of place, time and thing. The Self is everywhere as it is all pervading. It exists in the past, present and future. It dwells in all parts. It is therefore endless.
divi sooryasahasrasya bhavedyugapadutthitaa
yadi bhaah sadrishee saa syaadbhaasastasya mahaatmanah // 11.12 //
If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst forth at once in the sky, that would be like the splendor of that Mighty One. (The Cosmic or the Universal Form).
The splendor of the Cosmic Form excels all others; it is indeed beyond comparison.
tatraikastham jagatkritsnam pravibhaktamanekadhaa
apashyaddevadevasya shareere paandavastadaa // 11.13 //
There, in the body of the God of Gods, Arjuna then saw the whole Universe with its manifold divisions all gathered together in one.
In the Cosmic Form of The Lord, Arjuna perceived the entire world of multiple varieties brought together and made to rest at one and the same place. This does not mean that the Universe has shrunk into the physical structure of Sri Krishna. It means that Arjuna could intellectually comprehend the sense of oneness in the world of matter. He could see many in the one and the One in the many. The vision is a revelation of the potential divinity of all earthly life.