I desire to see Thee as before, crowned, bearing a mace, with the discus in hand, in Thy former form only, having four arms, O thousand-armed, Cosmic Form (Being).
In simple words
Arjuna pleads: "I want to see You the way You were before — with the crown, the mace, the discus in Your hand. Please return to Your four-armed form, O thousand-armed, cosmic being."
किरीटिनम्wearing crownगदिनम्bearing a maceचक्रहस्तम्with a discus in the handइच्छामि(I) desireत्वाम्Theeद्रष्टुम्to seeअहम्Iतथैवas beforeतेनैवthat sameरूपेणof formचतुर्भुजेन(by) fourarmedसहस्रबाहोO thousandarmedभवbeविश्वमूर्ते
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
11.46 किरीटिनम् wearing crown? गदिनम् bearing a mace? चक्रहस्तम् with a discus in the hand? इच्छामि (I) desire? त्वाम् Thee? द्रष्टुम् to see? अहम् I? तथैव as before? तेनैव that same? रूपेण of form? चतुर्भुजेन (by) fourarmed? सहस्रबाहो O thousandarmed? भव be? विश्वमूर्ते O Universal Form.Commentary Arjuna says O Lord in the Cosmic Form I do not know where to turn and to whom to address myself. I am frightened. I am longing to see Thee with conch? discus? mace and lotus. Withdraw Thy Cosmic Form. Assume that same fourarmed form as before.Spiritual aspirants are ofen impatient to have the highest spiritual experiences immediately they begin their Sadhana. This is wrong. They will not be able to withstand the great power that will,surge into them. Be patientO thousandarmed refers to the Cosmic Form.
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
Here Arjuna expresses his desire in clear words: I wish to see You as before. He has been terrified by the vision of the Lord's cosmic form, which He had assumed to demonstrate His unity with the entire universe. When the formless, attributeless principle expounded by Vedanta—the concept of the universal whole—is directly experienced, only rare individuals possess the intellectual capacity to comprehend that truth in its fullness and meditate upon it. Even if the intellect manages to grasp it, the devotee's heart rarely maintains that identification for long. At the level of the mind, truth can be understood and its joy experienced only through symbols and metaphors, never through its complete and overwhelming splendor directly.
In this verse, Arjuna speaks of the gentle form of Lord Vasudeva, which is the traditional form of Lord Vishnu in the Bhagavata tradition. In all the Puranas, the Divine is described in the language of metaphor and depicted as four-armed. To students of anatomy, this might appear to be an extraordinary creation of nature. We forget that this is truly only a symbolic representation of truth.
The Lord's four arms represent the fourfold inner faculties—mind, intellect, consciousness, and ego. In the Puranas, the four-armed Lord is described as dark blue in color and wearing yellow garments. The blue color signifies His infinity; the infinite always appears blue, like the cloudless summer sky or the deep ocean. Yellow is the color of the earth. Thus, the form of Lord Vishnu means that the infinite Supreme Self, assuming limitation, plays the game of life through the fourfold inner faculties.
It is noteworthy that in all religions, the Divine is described in the same manner. That Supreme Lord is omniscient and omnipotent. Through the Lord's mighty arms, humanity achieves success; therefore, the all-powerful Lord is represented as four-armed. Lord Vishnu holds the conch, discus, mace, and lotus. Through the conch's sound, the Lord calls all to come near Him. If a person ignores the divine call—the noblest sentiments of the heart—then suffering strikes like the mace. If the person still does not reform, the final result is destruction by the discus—the failure to attain the Supreme Goal. Conversely, if someone heeds the call to divine life and follows it completely, they attain the lotus, the symbol of spiritual perfection and peace in Hindu dharma, and also of prosperity in Indian culture. In Western lands, the white dove symbolizes peace.
In summary, Arjuna wishes the Lord to manifest in His gentle and peaceful form. For beginners and newly initiated students of Vedanta, it is difficult to maintain the continuous flow of subtle philosophical thought. In such a state of mental fatigue, earnest seekers need a trustworthy place of rest where they can recover and be renewed with fresh vitality. This bed of peace is the Lord's form with attributes, embodied and gentle.
Seeing Arjuna terrified, the Lord concludes His cosmic vision and, speaking in sweet words, reassures him.