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Category Archives: roopam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 52, Chapter 11

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.52, asi, chapter 11 verse 52, darshanakaankshinaha, drishtvaan, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, idam, mama, nityam, roopam, roopasya, sudurdarsham

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
sudurdarshamidam roopam drishtvaanasi yanmama |
devaa apyasya roopasya nityam darshanakaankshinaha || 52 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
It is extremely rare (for anyone) to see that form of mine that you have just seen. Even the gods eternally long to see this form.
 
sudurdarsham: extremely rare to see
idam : this
roopam : form
drishtvaan : seen
asi : you have
yat : that
mama : mine
devaaha : gods
api : even
asya : this
roopasya : form
nityam : eternally
darshanakaankshinaha : long to see
 
The Gita uses a lot of the Katha Upanishad for its teachings. In that Upanishad, the young boy Nachiketa approaches the lord of death Yama for spiritual instruction. His most powerful question to Yama is : what happens to the soul after death. Yama tries to distract Nachiketa with boons of wealth and power, but fails. Eventually he responds : “Nachikata, even the gods are even anxious to know the answer to this question, and have never been able to figure this out”.
 
The same language is used by Shri Krishna in this shloka. He says that the gods have desired to see Ishvara’s cosmic form since eternity, but have not been able to do so. It is “sudurdarsham”, extremely difficult and rare to see, it is next to impossible. They may have seen Lord Naarayana in his four-armed form, but not the universal cosmic vision seen by Arjuna. And they will probably not see it in their lifetime.
 
Why is it the case the the gods cannot see this vision? Let’s investigate the nature of gods. They may be more powerful than humans, but they are subject to the three gunaas like every other aspect of creation. Which means that they also are impelled by selfish desires. Even Indra, the king of the gods, starts plotting to remove anyone who has an eye on his throne. So what Shri Krishna means here is that humans, gods, demons, anyone who is part of this creation, will never get to see this cosmic form unless they have a specific quality. Shri Krishna will give a detailed answer to this question soon.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 51, Chapter 11

04 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.51, asmi, chapter 11 verse 51, drishtvaa, gataha, idaaneem, idam, janaardana, maanusham, prakritim, roopam, sachetaahaa, samvrittaha, saumyam, tava

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Arjuna uvaacha:
drishtvedam maanusham roopam tava saumyam janaardana |
idaaneemasmi samvrittaha sachetaahaa prakritim gataha || 51 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Seeing this, your pleasant human form, O Janaardana, I have now regained my composure, and attained my true nature.
 
drishtvaa : seeing
idam : this
maanusham : human
roopam : form
tava : your
saumyam : pleasant
janaardana : O Janaardana
idaaneem : at this moment
asmi : I have
samvrittaha : become
sachetaahaa : composed
prakritim : my true nature
gataha : attained
 
The pleasing form of Shri Krishna is glorified in the Srimad Bhaagavatam repeatedly. The cowherdesses of Vrindaavan known as the gopis, elaborately praise this form in the tenth canto of the Bhaagavatam. They say: “Your beauty makes all three worlds auspicious. Even the cows, birds, trees and deer are enthralled when they see your beautiful form.” Arjuna, seeing the human form of Shri Krishna, regained his natural state, free from the fear and bewilderment resulting from the cosmic form.
 
We have come across the meaning of the term “Janaardana” earlier. “Arda” means one who moves, or makes others move. Jana means people, and therefore Janaardana means one who moves people to heaven or hell, in other words, dispenses justice to evildoers. Another meaning of Janaardana is one whom people ask for prosperity and well being. By addressing Shri Krishna as Janaardana, a term he used to address Shri Krishna prior to knowing that he was Ishvara, Arjuna recalled the glory of his human form.
 
So far, we saw Arjuna request Shri Krishna for the cosmic form, Arjuna’s description of the cosmic form and his subsequent reaction to it, followed by a request to revert back to the human form. Now, Shri Krishna summarizes the teaching of this chapter in the the four shlokas that follow.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 50, Chapter 11

03 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.50, aashvaasayaamaasa, arjunam, bheetam, bhootvaa, bhooyaha, chapter 11 verse 50, darshayaamaasa, iti, mahaatmaa, punaha, roopam, saumyavapuhu, svakam, tathaa, uktvaa, vaasudevaaha

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Sanjaya uvaacha:
ityarjunam vaasudevastathoktvaa svakam roopam darshayaamaasa bhooyaha |
aashvaasayaamaasa cha bheetamenam bhootvaa punaha saumyavapoormahaatmaa || 50 ||
 
Sanjaya said:
Then, having said this to Arjuna, Vaasudeva showed his form, and again assuming his pleasant form, reassured the scared one.
 
iti : this
arjunam : to Arjuna
vaasudevaaha : Vaasudeva
tathaa : in that manner
uktvaa : saying
svakam : his
roopam : form
darshayaamaasa : showed
bhooyaha : then
aashvaasayaamaasa : reassured
cha : and
bheetam : scared one
enam : this
bhootvaa : becoming
punaha : again
saumyavapuhu : pleasant form
mahaatmaa : great one
 
The eighth chapter in the tenth canto (book) of the Srimad Bhaagavatam describes the ceremony where the sage Garga, in the village of Gokula, gave Shri Krishna the name “Vaasudeva” to indicate that he was the son of Vasudeva. This ceremony was conducted in a low-key manner so as not to arouse the suspicion of the king Kamsa, who had vowed to finish the progeny of Vasudeva. Vaasudeva also means “one who pervades the universe”.
 
The eight chapter further describes a story of Shri Krishna’s pranks. Several children approached Yashoda to complain that her son, the baby Shri Krishna, was eating dirt. Angrily, she asked Shri Krishna to open his mouth so that she can know whether he was eating dirt. When he opened his mouth, Yashoda saw a glimpse of the cosmic form inside, with all the planets, galaxies, all of time and space in that tiny mouth. She did not see the fearful version of the cosmic form shown to Arjuna. Immediately afterwards, Shri Krishna erased her memory of this incident.
 
In this shloka, Sanjaya introduced himself in the commentary to indicate that Shri Krishna ended the fearful cosmic form, then assumed his four armed form, and then the pleasant two armed form that Arjuna knew and loved. Shri Krishna held a whip in one hand and the reins of the chariot in another. Just like a father scolds his children and immediately pacifies them, he pacified Arjuna and ensured that his state of mind returned to normal. This is reflected in the next shloka where the chanting meter also reverts back to the “anushtubh chandha”, the default meter for chanting the Gita.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 49, Chapter 11

02 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.49, chapter 11 verse 49, dristhvaa, eedranga, ghoram, idam, mama, prapashya, preetamanaahaa, punaha, roopam, tadeva, vimoodhabhaavaha, vyapetabheehee, vyathaa

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maa te vyathaa maa cha vimoodhabhaavo dristhvaa roopam ghorameedrangamamedam |
vyapetabheehee preetamanaahaa punastvam tadeva me roopamidam prapashya || 49 ||
 
Do not be disturbed, and do not be deluded on seeing that, my frightful form. Be fearless, with a pleasant mind, behold again this very form of mine.
 
maa : do not
te : you
vyathaa : disturbed
maa : do not
cha : and
vimoodhabhaavaha : state of delusion
dristhvaa : seeing
roopam : form
ghoram : frightful
eedranga : such
mama : my
idam : this
vyapetabheehee : fearless
preetamanaahaa : pleasant mind
punaha : again
tvam : you
tadeva : that very
me : my
roopam : form
idam : this
prapashya : behold
 
Knowing fully well that Arjuna’s mind could not deal with the fear-inducing cosmic form, Shri Krishna asked Arjuna to not worry, and to remove all traces of fear. He reassured him that it was his friend, charioteer and companion all along, not some other person. Nothing had changed. He used the word “prapashya” meaning “behold”, urging Arjuna not to look away, that the familiar form of Shri Krishna was on its way.
 
Unlike Arjuna, we have not seen the grand sweep and scale of the cosmic form. But, our daily life is part of that very universe, so whatever Shri Krishna says to Arjuna is also applicable to us. The terrors, the destructive forces in the universe usually create fear and agitation in our minds. Shri Krishna urges all of us to go about our lives with a fearless attitude and a pleasant mind, because he is present in everything. Only when we forget this fact will we create fear and agitation.
 
Ultimately, the root of all sorrow and fear is delusion, the confusion between right and wrong knowledge. In Arjuna’s case, it was the delusion created by attachment to his relatives. In our case, it is our attachment to our body, to our possessions, to our family, our job, our position, the list goes on and on. Shri Krishna says “maa vimoodhabhaavaha”, he urges all of us to cast our state of delusion away, and learn to see Ishvara in everything, and everything in Ishvara.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 11

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.47, aadyam, anantam, arjuna, atmayogaat, chapter 11 verse 47, darshitama, drishtapoorvam, idam, param, prasannena, roopam, tejomayam, tvadanyena, vishvam

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
mayaa prasannena tavaarjunedam roopam param darshitamaatmayogaat |
tejomayam vishvamanantamaadyam yanme tvadanyena na drishtapoorvam || 47 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
Being pleased, I have shown this supreme form to you, O Arjuna, with my power. My form is luminous, universal, infinite and primal, which no one except you has seen before.
 
mayaa : I have
prasannena : being pleased
tava : to you
arjuna : Arjuna
idam : this
roopam : form
param : supreme
darshitama : have shown
atmayogaat : with my power
tejomayam : luminous
vishvam : universal
anantam : infinite
aadyam : primal
yat : which
me : I
tvadanyena : except you
na : not
drishtapoorvam : seen before
 
Previously, Shri Krishna had displayed his “soumya roopa”, the pleasant cosmic form, which was replaced by his “raudra roopa” his terror-inspiring form. Arjuna was extremely frightened when he saw it. Later, he acknowledged that he could not see it any more and begged Shri Krishna to stop showing it. In this shloka, Shri Krishna reassured Arjuna that there was no intent to scare Arjuna through the fearful form. It was only out of his compassion that the fearful cosmic form, a result of Ishvara’s power of maaya, was displayed.
 
Like Arjuna, we may also want to know why this terrible form was displayed. From a practical standpoint, it is an illustrative reminder to view creation and destruction with equanimity in our lives. Most of us tend to get attached to pleasant and favourable circumstances, and reject or run away from unpleasant circumstances. Ishvara’s universal form has room for both, and gives equal validity to both these aspects. Through this form. Shri Krishna wants us to view the same Ishvara in all aspects of life, pleasant and unpleasant.
 
Furthermore, Shri Krishna wanted to again caution us against objectifying this universal form, in other words, to think of ourselves as unique and distinct from it. We are part and parcel of that universal form, it is not outside us. To drive home this point, he summarizes the key aspects of this form. It is full of luster (tejomaya), it is that which is all pervading (vishwam), it is infinite (anantam), it is primal and beginningless (aadyam). He also points out the exclusivity of this form to Arjuna, which is elaborated in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 11

06 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.23, aham, bahoodaram, bahubaahooroopaadam, bahudamshtraakaraalam, bahuvaktranetram, chapter 11 verse 23, drishtvaa, lokaahaa, mahaabaaho, mahat, pravyathitaahaa, roopam, tatha, te

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roopam mahatte bahuvaktranetram mahaabaaho bahubaahooroopaadam |
bahoodaram bahudamshtraakaraalam drishtvaa lokaahaa pravyathitaastathaaham || 23 ||
 
Seeing your grand form with several mouths and eyes, O mighty armed, with several arms, thighs, feet and bellies, with fearful fangs, all beings are disturbed, and (so too am) I.
 
roopam : form
mahat : grand
te : your
bahuvaktranetram : with several mouths and eyes
mahaabaaho : O mighty armed
bahubaahooroopaadam : with several arms, thighs and feet
bahoodaram : with several bellies
bahudamshtraakaraalam : with fearful fangs
drishtvaa : seeing
lokaahaa : beings
pravyathitaahaa : disturbed
tatha : and
aham : I
 
Arjuna’s amazement turned into fear as he witnessed the transformation of Ishvara’s cosmic form. The “soumya roopa” or the pleasant form morphed into into the “ugra roopa”, the fear-inducing form. Shri Krishna’s kind, shining face was no more visible. It now was the face of a monster, with long sharp teeth that were “kaarala”, ready to take a bite.
 
When we see someone who has power but is benevolent and kind, we feel at peace. But when someone with power is clearly intent on causing destruction, we are afraid. When a general of a country army is disciplined and respects civilian authority, people are happy, otherwise he becomes a dictator and scares people. So therefore, seeing this terrible form of Ishvara, Arjuna saw that all beings in all of the worlds were cowering in fear of this form.
 
Why did Ishvara show this form to Arjuna? Didn’t Shri Krishna want everyone to remember his pleasant form only? There is a reason to this. Earlier, we learned about the tendency of our mind to demarcate certain aspect of the world as “good” or “bad”. But if we use the cosmic form as a means to meditate upon Ishvara, we need think like Ishvara. Ishvara comprises the entire creation where everything is necessary and everything has its place. We cannot demarcate anything good or bad. Only by discarding our prior conceptions of good and bad can we truly understand this terrible form of Ishvara.
 
What else about the form scared Arjuna? He continues in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 11

03 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.20, adbhutam, agram, antaram, chapter 11 verse 20, dishashcha, drashtvaa, dyaavaaprathivyoho, ekena, hi, idam, lokatrayam, mahaatman, pravyathitam, roopam, sarvaahaa, tava, tvayaa, vyaaptam

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dyaavaaprathivyoridamantaram hi vyaaptam tvayaikena dishashcha sarvaahaa |
drashtvaadbhutam roopamagram tavedam lokatrayam pravyathitam mahaatman || 20 ||
 
This distance between heaven, earth is and all directions is pervaded only by you alone. Having seen this, your fascinating and terrible form, the three worlds are afraid, O great one.
 
dyaavaaprathivyoho : heaven and earth
idam : this
antaram : distance
hi : only
vyaaptam : pervaded
tvayaa : by you
ekena : one
dishashcha : directions
sarvaahaa : all
drashtvaa : having seen
adbhutam : fascinating
roopam : form
agram : terrible
tava : your
idam : this
lokatrayam : three worlds
pravyathitam : afraid
mahaatman : O great one
 
Nowadays, computers can be trained to recognize objects and faces. They do this by first taking a snapshot of a scene, and then differentiating between what is space is what is not. If they can do this differentiation correctly, they can compare the outlines of the “not-space” with outlines of familiar objects to arrive at a conclusion such as “this is a box” and so on.
 
Our eyes work in pretty much the same way. Whenever they see space, they do three things. First, they separate whatever they see as not-space and call those things “objects”. Next, they send those objects to the mind which uses its memory to say “this is a box and a key”. But in addition to recognizing objects, the mind also automatically adds another thought. Since the box and key are separated by space, they are far away from me and therefore not a part of me.
 
Our minds are conditioned to believe that Ishvara is sitting somewhere far away. He is separated from us by space, by distance. But when Arjuna saw the cosmic form, he realized that space is not different from Ishvara. In fact, Shri Krishna himself said that space is part of his nature in the seventh chapter. Ishvara is not separate and far away from us, he is with us all the time. In fact, he only exists, “ekena”, all alone, by himself. We are not different from him. This is the main point of this shloka. Only by constantly remembering the cosmic form will we truly understand this message.
 
Now, Ishvara’s ugra roopa, his terrible form, slowly replaces his saumya roopa, his pleasant for. For every pleasant experience in the world, there has to be a corresponding unpleasant experience as well. Once you label something as “good”, there will be something “bad” by default. Seeing this frightful form of Ishvara, with fire coming out of all his mouths, all the three worlds were beginning to worry.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 11

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.9, aishvaram, chapter 11 verse 9, darshayaamaasa, evam, mahaayogeshvaraha, paarthaaya, paramam, raajan, roopam, tataha, uktvaa, Yogeshwara harihi

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Sanjaya uvaacha:
evamuktvaa tato raajanmahaayogeshvaro harihi |
darshayaamaasa paarthaaya paramam roopamaishvaram || 9 ||
 
Sanjaya said:
O King, then having spoken this, Hari, the great Yogeshwara, showed the supreme form of Ishvara to Paartha.
 
evam : this
uktvaa : having spoken
tataha : then
raajan : O King
mahaayogeshvaraha : great Yogeshwara
harihi : Hari
darshayaamaasa : showed
paarthaaya : to Paartha
paramam : supreme
roopam : form
aishvaram : of Ishvara
 
At this point in the Gita, neither Shri Krishna nor Arjuna could continue narrating since Shri Krishna was showing the cosmic form, and Arjuna was taking it all in. The great sage Veda Vyaasa, the compiler of the Mahaabhaarata, chose to switch the narration over to Sanjaya, who was relaying the events to Dhritraashtra, the “King” that is mentioned in this shloka.
 
We notice a subtle shift in the language used by Sanjaya. His praise of Shri Krishna is one degree higher than that used by Arjuna. For instance, he refers to Shri Krishna as “Mahaa Yogeshwara” whereas Arjuna uses “Yogeshwara”. It is because Sanjaya knew Shri Krishna more thoroughly and deeply than Arjuna did. Moreover, he was already blessed with divine vision through Vyaasa, which enabled him to see exactly what Arjuna saw.
 
Sant Jnyaneshwara’s commentary of this shloka emphasizes Arjuna’s good fortune of being able to view this cosmic form. He lists Lakshmi, Shesha and Garuda as tireless servants of Lord Vishnu who have yet to see the cosmic form that Arjuna sees, underscoring the love Shri Krishna for his devotee Arjuna. He also enumerates others who were able to see a tiny glimpse of this cosmic form including Yashoda and Dhruva.
 
So what did this form look like? The description begins in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 11

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.3, aatmaanam, aattha, aishvaram, chapter 11 verse 3, drishtum, etat, evam, ichchaami, parameshavara, purushottamam, roopam, te, tvam, yathaa

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evametadyathaattha tvamaatmaanam parameshavara |
drishtumichchaami te roopamaishvaram purushottamam || 3 ||
 
As you have spoken about yourself, so is it, O supreme Ishvara. I wish to see your divine form, O supreme person.
 
evam : it is that
etat : this
yathaa : as
aattha : spoken
tvam : you
aatmaanam : yourself
parameshavara : supreme Ishvara
drishtum : to see
ichchaami : I wish
te : your
roopam : form
aishvaram : divine
purushottamam : O supreme person
 
When someone describes the plot and special effects of the latest Hollywood summer blockbuster to us, and our curiosity and interest for that movie increases, we reach a point when we say “I want to see that movie right now, and I want to see it on a large IMAX screen”. Why does that happen? Of the five sense organs, the organ of sight is the dearest to us. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
 
Similarly, Arjuna’s curiosity towards Shri Krishna had reached its peak at this point. That is why he asked Shri Krishna, who was the “avatar” or incarnation of Ishvara, to reveal his divine form that was described in the last shloka of the previous chapter. How magnificent would that form be, if this entire universe was sustained by only a fraction of Ishvara, and if all of the divine expressions were contained in Ishvara. In addition to the might and grandeur of this form, Arjuna also wanted to see how everything originated, existed and dissolved within Ishvara, and finally, how everything was Ishvara in essence.
 
We call something divine when it is endowed with the attributes of knowledge, lordship, power, prowess and brilliance. Arjuna put in a request to Shri Krishna to see that that form, where it is possible to have this vision of many in one. However, the sincere Arjuna did not order to command Shri Krishna to show that form. He qualified his request with a great deal of humility, which we see in the upcoming shloka.