Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 51 (BG 11.51) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

11.51 दृष्ट्वा having seen? इदम् this? मानुषम् human? रूपम् form? तव Thy? सौम्यम् gentle? जनार्दन O Krishna? इदानीम् now? अस्मि (I) am? संवृत्तः composed? सचेताः with mind? प्रकृतिम् to nature? गतः restored.Commentary Arjuna says to Lord Krishna O Lord? I now behold Thy human form. Now my thoughts are collected and I am serene. I can speak. My senses perform their proper functions. My fear has vanished. Thou hast treated me as a mother would treat her erring child whom she embraces and nurses. Just as the calf rejoices when it beholds its mother who was missing for some days? so also I rejoice now when I behold Thy gentle form. I have drunk the nectar. Now I am alive.

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

Arjuna was naturally overwhelmed by fear and delusion upon suddenly beholding the vast, cosmic form of the Divine—for he lacked the necessary spiritual preparation to comprehend and experience that which transcends space and time. Yet here he acknowledges that upon witnessing the Lord's peaceful and gentle human form, his mind has become serene, and he has returned to his true nature. Now the Lord Himself describes the path of devotion to the Divine in the verse that follows.