विवेचन सारांश

Arjuna gets disturbed on seeing the terrific COSMIC FORM

Arjuna started to describe all that he saw in HIS body - all the divine entities (Devatas), BrahmāJi seated on lotus flower, Shiv ji, Vishnu ji and many celestial bodies. He also saw many sages, Mahatmas, and celestial serpents. HE saw the gigantic form of Paramātmā extending in all directions. Arjuna exclaimed that he was beholding multitude of beings from all the three worlds.

Arjuna witnessed a very gigantic form of Bhagavān extending in all directions. The infinite form contained countless arms, stomachs, infinite number of eyes and faces. He could see HIM and only HIM in every direction. He could not see any beginning or middle or end in the form, but saw only boundless limitless form of the Viśvarūpa. He saw the Divine Rupa of the Master of the Universe everywhere. Overwhelmed by HIS vastness, he was unable to focus on any one particular thing.

When we take a bath in the holy waters of river Ganga, for a moment when we dip our head inside the water, we see only the holy water all around us. We get immersed in that feeling of holiness or vastness of water all around us. We see water everywhere. Similarly, to Arjuna nothing other than HIM was visible. He was immersed in HIS Vibhūti.

Arjuna further described that he could identify Śrī Krishna by HIS crown. He saw HIM adorned with a crown, holding the Sudarsana Chakra and HIS club (Gadha). HE was shining everywhere as an epitome of splendour. HE was blindingly bright as the blazing fire. HIS radiance was equal to thousand suns.

The cosmic form of Bhagavān was having a brilliance that cannot be tolerated by human eyes. When it is blinding for a human eye to look directly at one sun, it is humanly impossible to look at the radiance of thousand suns. Arjuna could look at this phenomenon as he had the gift of Divya Dristi. The radiance of Viśvarūpa was all-around. Its blazing light filled everywhere. It can be compared to the morning sunrise. In the morning, when the sun rises all directions become equally illuminated. No part of the sky remains unilluminated.

This Divine experience would make any one sublime and filled with humility. However, Arjuna was already a very noble and pure soul. In fact, he was chosen for the Darshan of this Satyarupa only because of his purity of mind and unalloyed character. Hence prior eligibility is required for any divine grace.

That said, Bhagavān had reiterated many a times that this eligibility can also be cultivated. A person can cultivate divine qualities by developing a pure mind and performing desireless actions. In a sense, our efforts should be to reorient our characters to be like Arjuna. Slowly and steadily, it can be practiced by reading holy scriptures and performing prescribed actions without aspiring for fruits.
The slogan of Geeta Pariwar also signifies the same values. Character of Arjuna also signifies his untainted faith on his Sakha Śrī Krishna. Undiluted faith and bhakti therefore are necessary for Iswara Prapti. One needs to have certain prerequisite qualifications in order to obtain the Ishwara Prapti or divine bliss. These qualifications have been explained vividly in Bhagavadgītā. They are desirelessness, selflessness, performing one’s duties with sincerity and without expecting results. These qualities can be developed slowly and steadily. One need not try to be a yogi to start with it. Put Gītā into practice.

Overwhelmed by the blazing effulgence of HIS Swarupa, Arjuna was astonished and started describing the imperishable entity. He was submerged with emotions. His emotions were that of gratitude, admiration and profound love. We are now trying to decipher his emotions and trying to understand the Param form of Parameśvara. Param means the supreme, the ultimate. HE is our ultimate saviour. HE is our ultimate destination, reaching whom we all achieve the ultimate bliss. That should be our life’s goal.

Arjuna thus recognised HIM as the imperishable Akshara Brahmān and opined that the Paramātmā is the creator, the supreme divine being. HE is eternal, everlasting and all-pervading; and above all HE is the protector of all beings and all Dharmas. One should therefore contemplate on HIM and try to know HIM. Veditavyam means worthy of being known.

Paramātmā is imperishable. HE is Akṣara. Kṣara is the thing or creature which perishes gradually and Aksara is the one which is ever lasting, never depletes or perishes. It never ceases to exist. Paramātmā is the supreme thing and is everlasting. Arjuna used the adjective - to describe Bhagavān which means “YOU are eternal”.

Not only is HE everlasting, HE is also all pervading. We can find HIM anywhere, at any place. There is no time when HE is not there and there is no place where HE is not present. We are familiar with Hiranyakashipu’s story. He had found Bhagavān inside a pillar. When he kicked a pillar out of anger, Bhagavān appeared out of it in a hybrid form of part lion and part man. We all known this form of HIM as Narasimha Avatar.

HE holds everything. All living and non-living, animate, inanimate objects appear in HIM and disappear into HIM. HE holds the universe in which we all appear.

Arjuna further described him as meaning HE is the protector of eternal religion, Dharma.

Dharma means justice. As we all know good karmas bring Punya and bad karmas or evil deeds generate sins. Who decides these and supervises our karmic accounts? It is the same all-pervading all knower Paramātmā in whom we take refuge, who decides our rewards and punishments like a judge. HE is the protector of Dharma.

Dnyaneshwar Ji Maharaj once went to Paithan for pleading for justice from the Paithan priests for his impoverished and outcast siblings who were being insulted and ridiculed. While going on the road, he found a man violently lashing an old buffalo. The old buffalo was severely injured. He asked the buffalo owner to stop beating out of his concern for the animal. The priests ridiculed him for being more concerned about an animal than for the teachings of Vedas. Dnyaneshwar Maharaj then said it is proclaimed in the Vedas itself that Brahmān resides in all sentient beings including animals. All lives are sacred and are manifestation of Paramātmā. However, he was ridiculed. The outraged Sanyasi pointed out that his logic implied that beasts should be able to learn Vedas as well. An undeterred Dhyaneshwar ji Maharaj placed his hand on the buffalo’s forehead and it started reciting Vedic verses. Thus, he demonstrated that Paramātmā, the creator of Vedas is all pervading.

In another miracle, Dnyaneshwar ji Maharaj was challenged by Changdev, an accomplished yogi, who rode on a tiger with his magical powers to replicate his feat. At that time Maharaj was sitting on a wall along with his siblings. He made the wall to move. Such are the powers of realised persons. They see all pervading Brahmān all the time. Arjuna also mentioned the same thing. I see you but I do not see any beginning or any end of your Swarupa. In all directions, I see only you. He described HIM as Sanatana Purusha meaning everlasting supreme divine person.

Arjuna described Him as HE is without beginning, middle or end. HE is the infinite power.

Arjuna was overwhelmed on viewing this infiniteness. He was so mesmerised by seeing HIS Swarupa that he repeated the same descriptions again and again. Had it been a book it would have been easier to avoid repetition. It is a conversation between Purushottam and HIS devotee Arjuna. During this conversation Arjuna sometimes speaks to Bhagavān, some other times he is speaking to himself in great astonishment about the great wonders he is viewing.

He is describing the limitless power and energy radiating from HIM. He could see uncountable universes inside HIS body. He is awestruck by the sight of this infiniteness. He described this energy as limitless and overpowering. He described HIS arms are infinite, HIS eyes of are like moon (Sashi) and sun (Surya). They are beautiful and at the same time ferocious. He sees blazing fire emanating from HIS mouth. The radiance engulfs the entire universes that appear inside HIM. He also describes HIS eyes as loving and beautiful yet ferocious. They appear to emit effulgence.

Arjuna is describing HIS radiance equivalent to thousand blazing suns coming out of HIS mouth. One can perceive the magnitude of radiance that he was experiencing, when we compare it with our experience with Yajna. When we are performing a Yajna / fire sacrifice, we are not able to tolerate the heat after some time. Our eyes start burning, and we try to move away. Also, imagine the forest fire. No one can dare to go near it.

HE is the source of energy for all the suns. Through the advancement of scientific research, we are now able to measure a few facts about one sun of our galaxy which is the nearest to us. But 700 years back Dnyaneshwari compiled by Dnyaneshwar ji Maharaj described so many facts about our universe and multi universes extending beyond our galaxy. Such was the vast knowledge of our predecessors.

Being a human being, Arjuna can stretch his imagination only to a certain point. Sky is the limit for him to describe infinity. Therefore, he said there is no difference between sky and the earth.

Everything is covered by HIM. No space is left in between. Arjuna sees only HIM in all directions. Every space is occupied by HIM. When he looks around, he can see only the Paramātmā.

It was so overpowering that he started to tremble. Slowly it was becoming dreadful for Arjuna. Earlier he described HIS eyes as moon and sun. In this sloka he is describing the ferocious form of Bhagavān. This cosmic form was nothing new. As we know HE is ever existent but Arjuna was viewing this Rupa of Bhagavān for the first time. He never imagined this Rupa before. It was all appearing scary. He further mentioned not only himself, but all the three worlds were trembling in fear of the ferocious form of Bhagavān. Arjuna was not an ordinary man. He was a very evolved being and had seen many worlds, including the Swarga Lok, Patal Lok and Mritya Lok. Yet, he started trembling.

Arjuna saw groups of celestial deities entering HIS form. Arjuna was witnessing the Kala-Swarupa of Paramātmā. Everything was merging into HIM. The phenomenon Arjuna was witnessing and describing is the end game of many. We know that all embodied souls have to face demise someday.

Here it is described that even the deities meet their end. As we saw in previous chapters, even Brahmā Ji has a limited life span although it is unimaginably long. He too perishes one day and a new Brahmā is created who takes charge.
He witnessed three categories of people entering the divine cosmic form. Some were just entering the blazing fire. Some were praising HIM. They were all simply scared of HIM and were paying respects with folded hands. A third category who were praying had tranquillity around them. These people were equanimous and were practicing Samatha Yoga - Yoga of steadfastness. They have achieved the wisdom. Having achieved the wisdom, they were now praying for the welfare of the mankind. This category are the realised souls, the Mahatmas who are constantly worshiping HIM with auspicious hymns. There are selfless embodied souls existing on this earth who always pray for the welfare of others. They have no desires for themselves. They constantly seek happiness for the society from Paramātmā. They have developed that equipoised state of mind by their yoga and tapa. (Sloka 48 of chapter 2).

We had many such Yogis in this land before. They have all contributed to make this land of ours a holy land, a land of Sanatan Dharma. They might have suffered enormous atrocities in the hands of society but still they constantly pray for the wellbeing of others. Dhyaneshwar ji Maharaj always prayed for the welfare of all human beings. Another such glorified soul is Mirabai, who despite being harassed by the society many times, did not deviate from her path of bhakti. She infact gave a new definition to bhakti. These Mahatmas have given back so much to the society.

svastītyuktvā denotes auspicious prayers praying for the wellness of everyone.
Stutibhih means singing Stotras.

Both Sanjaya and Arjun are able to view the Viśhwarūpa because they were given the Divya Dristi. They both belonged to the same cosmic formation of Ishwara. But due to their Divya Dristi, they are able to see the cosmic formation distinctly and separately.

In this sloka, Arjuna described that he was seeing the Rudra (Siva), Aditya (the sun), Vasus, Aswini Kumaras, Muruts, ancestors, Gandharva, Yakshas, Asuras, Siddha Purushas.

In the previous session we had discussed that the 12 Adityas or sons of Aditi, the 8 vasus, the 11 Rudras and the twin Aswini Kumaras together constitute 33 Devatas or the thirty-three Koti Devatas. They were all looking at HIM, astonished by HIS might and radiance. They are all in their cosmic forms and appear inside the whole cosmic form of Ishwara. 

Everybody was looking at this infinite form. Arjuna repeated again the infiniteness of Bhagavān with more emphasis. He described with more intensity because he himself had started trembling seeing this enormous form.

How much one understands this chapter depends on one’s imagination. One should stretch the imagination as much as possible in order to understand it to the maximum.
Arjuna used the word means “terror- stricken” to describe his state of mind.

Everyone including Arjuna were watching with great reverence the magnificent form which has many mouths, eyes, arms, thighs, legs, stomach and terrifying teeth. All were terrified. Arjuna could not even make out whether Prabhu is standing or sitting in this form. He could not even decipher from where the form started and where it ended. 

Arjuna could see that Paramātmā's glory was touching the sky. Arjuna used the word sky metaphorically as for him sky is the ultimate vastness that he could imagine. The expanse of sky increases as the horizon increases. Glory touching the sky has a broader ramification.

Borrowing the concept from this sloka, Indian Air Force uses the phrase “glory touching the sky” as their tag line. The pride of our country the Indian Air Force uses this tag line in its true sense. They promise to protect us and our country. We see them with great pride in our Republic Day parade and enjoy the show where our fighter aircrafts are literally touching the sky. In the recent Prana Prathista ceremony at Ayodhya, Indian Air Force displayed their greatness again by sprinkling flowers from above.

Many organisations use verses from Bhagavadgītā as their tag line. Life Insurance Corporation of India uses the verse from the sloka 22 of chapter 9 which means we will protect your assets if you pay your premium regularly. Bhagavān has also said the same thing, if we invest in bhakti regularly, HE will take care of us. With complete faith and trust we should give the mantle of our lives in the hands of Paramātmā and do all karmas as a non-doer.

Many Engineering Colleges use the line Yoga Karmasu Kausalam which means performing one’s duty sincerely, selflessly and fearlessly for the welfare of all, as their motto.

Here in this sloka Arjuna addresses Śrī Krishna as Vishnu. Vishnu denotes the infinite cosmic form of Paramātmā. Further he said, that he could see HIS form touching the sky, effulgent in many colours. HIS mouth is wide open and ferocious fire emerging out of it. The wide blazing eyes are somewhat scary. He is trembling with fear and have lost all courage and capacity to tolerate this blazing scene. He is thoroughly confused.

Arjuna admits that he does not have courage to stand. A great warrior like Arjuna is in a state of fearfulness. Earlier he was in a despondent state. At that time too, he was fearful on seeing all near and dear ones in the Warfield. Now again he is in a fearful state seeing this dreaded Viśvarūpa. Out of fear, Arjuna started praying to Bhagavān in many different names such as Devesha—Jagannivasa. Normally when we are utterly scared of something, we start chanting different prayers with the intention that our prayers should reach HIM as soon as possible.

He said that HIS teeth were so terrifying. HIS mouth was showing the raging fire that was destroying everything. It resembles only destruction, death and annihilation. He saw it spreading in all directions and hence did not know where to go. When a house sets on fire, it is difficult to tolerate the scene. How can one tolerate such a terrifying flame! Arjuna too entered into a much fearful state, and bowed to the Paramātmā, saying ‘You are the protector of the universe. I take refuge in you. Please have mercy on me. I am surrendering to your cosmic form’.

Arjuna wondered why Śrī Krishna had shown him such a fearful mouth. He was seeing the armies from both the sides entering HIS mouth. Arjuna saw all the sons of Dhritarashtra entering HIS mouth. He also saw Bhishma, Dronacharya along with other allied kings of Kauravas side and also many generals from his own side, rushing into this blazing cosmic mouth. It was extremely fearful for him.

Their heads were smashed between the terrible teeth. HE was chewing them all like food. Uttama-angaih means heads.

Here Arjuna is faced with another dilemma. On one hand he sees them all standing in the battle field and on the other hand he sees them entering that dreaded blazing mouth of the cosmic form. He failed to understand. But this duality had been previously explained by Bhagavān in the seventh sloka wherein HE said-- Whatever you see, whomever you see, the past, present, future everything is seen inside ME only.

Arjuna saw these great warriors entering HIS blazing mouth. They were all moving like the rivers moving in one direction to enter the sea. River Ganga starts from Gangotri and enters the sea. It moves only in one direction. There is no reverse flow. Similarly, all these warriors were entering HIS mouth and never to come back.

Arjuna was immensely terrified by the scene where he saw people rushing into the horrifying fire of the cosmic mouth, like moths rushing in great speed towards fire.

The session ended with obeisance to Sri Bhagavān and Gurudev followed by a Questions and Answers round:

Santosh ji
Question: Why could not Arjuna see Abhimanyu?
Answer: Here, Arjuna was making a generic description. He had seen the warriors of both the sides. He did not go down the nitty gritty of finding out how many from his side were entering the cosmic mouth of Sri Bhagavān. Besides, he was immensely terrified to see such activity. He was confused. He took the names of only his revered seniors. Therefore, Abhimanyu’s name is not mentioned. It was a war between Dharma and Adharma. It was not a personal warfare. He was not particularly worried about his own men.