Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 47 (BG 11.47) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

11.47 मया by Me? प्रसन्नेन gracious? तव to thee? अर्जुन O Arjuna? इदम् this? रूपम् form? परम् supreme? दर्शितम् has been shown? आत्मयोगात् by My own Yogic power? तेजोमयम् full of splendour? विश्वम् universal? अनन्तम् endless? आद्यम् primeval? यत् which? मे of Me? त्वत् from thee? अन्येन by another? न not? दृष्टपूर्वम् seen before.Commentary Lord Krishna eulogises the Cosmic Form because Arjuna should be regarded to have achieved all his ends by seeing this Cosmic Form.It is also an inducement to all spiritual aspirants to strive to attain this sublime vision. What they should do is explained by the Lord in verse 53 to 55.

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

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.

Modern

Here, the Blessed Lord Himself acknowledges that the vision of His universal form is not a privilege granted to all devotees. Through His boundless grace, Shri Krishna has bestowed upon Arjuna this rare and precious gift as a special blessing, allowing him to experience this extraordinary vision. He further declares with particular emphasis: "No one before you has ever beheld this radiant, infinite universal form of Mine." This statement should not be misunderstood as the great sage Vyasa, the author of the Gita, establishing and expounding some new philosophy here, whose truth he seeks to validate through the Lord. The true meaning is simply this: such an intellectual understanding or direct experience of universal unity has never occurred to any person under the circumstances in which it came to Arjuna on the battlefield. Arjuna's mind was scattered, his body exhausted, and his consciousness profoundly disturbed—such was his sorrowful and pitiable condition. To perceive and comprehend the unity within the multiplicity of this diverse creation of names and forms requires a state of mental concentration and clarity that is most conducive to such vision. Arjuna was far removed from such a state. Yet through the extraordinary power of His divine yoga, Shri Krishna granted him the necessary divine sight, and in a moment of profound stillness, revealed to him the vision of the universal form. The Blessed Lord clarifies His intention further in the next verse.