Text 1
Arjuna said: By my hearing the instructions You have kindly given me about these most confidential spiritual subjects, my illusion has now been dispelled.
Text 2
O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the appear ance and disappearance of very living entity and have realized Your inedhaustible glories.
Text 3
O greatest of all personalities O supreme form, though I see You here before me in Your actual positon. as You have described Yourself, I wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.
Text 4
If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that me that unlimited universal Self.
Text 5
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, O son of Prtha see now My opulences, hundreds of thousands of varied divine and multicolored forms.
Text 6
O best of the Bharatas, see here the different manifestations of Adityas, Vasus, Asvini-kumaras and all the other demi gods, Behold the many wonderful things which no one has ever seen or heard of before.
Text 7
O Arjuna, whatever, you wish to see, hehold at once in this body of Mine! This universal form can show you whatever you now desire to see and whatever, you may want to see in the future. Everything moving and nonmoving-is here completely, in one place.
Text 8
But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes. Behold My mystic opulence!
Text 9
Sanjaya said: O King, having spoken thus, the Supreme Lord of all mystic power, the Personality of Godhead displyed His universal form to Arjuna.
Text 10-11
Arjuna saw in that universal form unlimited mouths unlimited eyes, unlimited wornderful visions. The form was decorated with many celesial ornaments and bore many divine upraised weapons. He wore celestial garlands and garments, and many divine scent's smeared over His body. All was wondrous, brilliant, unlimited, all-expanding.
Text 12
If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in the unviversal form.
Text 13
At that time Arjuna could see in the unviversal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one plance although divided into many many thousands.
Text 14
Then bewildered astonished his hair standing on end, Arjuna bowed his head to offer obeisances and with folded hands began to pray to the Supreme Lord.
Text 15
Arjuna said: My dear Lord Krsna I see assembled in Your body all the demigods and various other living enties. I see Brahma sitting on the lotus flower, as well as Lord Siva and all the sages and divine serpents.
Text 16
O Lord of the universe, O universal form I see in Your body many, many arms, bellies, mouths adn eyes, expanded everywhere, without limit. I see in You no end, no middle and no beginning.
Text 17
Your form is difficult to see because of its glaring effulgence, spreading on all sides. like blazing fire or the immeasurable radiance of the sun. Yet I I see this glowing form everywhere, adorned with various crowsns, clubs and discs.
Text 18
You are the supreme primal objective. You are the ultimate resting place of all this universe. You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest. You are the maintainer of the eternal religion, the Personality of Godhead This is my opinion.
Text 19
You are without origin, middle or end, Your glory is unlimited. You have numberless arms, and the sund and moon are Your eyes. I see You with blazing fire coming forth from You mouth, burning this entire universe by Your own radiance.
Text 20
Although You are one, You spred throught the sky and the planets and space between. O great one, seeking his wondrous and terrible form, all the planetary systems are perturbed.
Text 21
All the hosts of demigods are surrendering before You and entering into You Some of them very much agraid, and offering prayers with folded hand. Hosts of great sages and perfected beings, crying "All peace!" are praying to You by singing the Vedic hymns.
Text 22
All the various manifestations of Lord Siva, the Adityas, the Vasus the Sadhyas, the Visvedevas, the two Asvis, th Maruts, the fore father, the Gandharvas, the Yakas, the Asuras and the perfested demigods are beholding You in wonder.
Text 23
O mighty-armed one, all the planets with their demigods are disturbed at seeing You great with its many faces, eyes arms, things legs, and belies and Your many terrible teeth; and as they are distrubed, so am I.
Text 24
O all-pervading Visnu, seeing You with Your many radiant colors touching the sky, Your gaping mouths, and Your great glowing eyes, my mind perturbed by fear. I can no longer maintain my steadiness or equilibrium of mind.
Text 25
O Lord of lords. O reguge of the worlds, please be gracious to me. I cannot keep my balance seeing thus You blazing dethlike faces and awful teeth, In all directions I am bewildered.
Text 26-27
All the sons of Dhrtarastra along with their allied kings, and Bhisma Drona Karna-and our chief soldiers also-are rushing into Your fearful mouths. And some I see trapped with heads smashed between Your teeth.
Text 28
As the many waves of the rivers flow into the ocean, so do all these great warriors enter blazing into Your mouths.
Text 29
I see all people rushing full speed into Your mouths, as moths dash to destruction in a blazing fire.
Text 30
O Visnu, I see You devouring all people from all sides with Your flaming mouths. Covering all the universe with Your effulgence, You are manifest with terrible, scorching rays.
Text 31
O Lord of lords, so fierce of form please tell me who You are. I offer my obeisances unto You; please be gracious to me. You are the primal Lord. I want to know about You, for I do not know what Your mission is.
Text 32
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am the great destroyer of the worlds,and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pandavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.
Text 33
Therefore get up, Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangment and you, O Saysaci, can be but an instrument in the fight.
Text 34
Drona Bhisma, jayadratha, Karana and the other great warriors have already been destroyed by Me. Therefore, kill them and do not be distrubed Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies in battle.
Text 35
Sanjaya said to Dhratarastra: O King,after hearing these words from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the trembling Arjuna offered obeisances with folded hands again and again. He fearfully spoke to Lord Krsna in a faltering voice as follows.
Text 36
Arjuna said: O master of the senses, the world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name, and thus everyone becomes atached to You, Although the perfected beings offer You theri respectful homage, the demon are afraid, and they flee here and there. All this is righly done.
Text 37
O great one,greater even than Brahma, You are the original creator, Why then should they not offer their respectful obeisances unto You? O limitless one, God of gods, refuge of th universe! You are the invincible source, the cause of all cause, trasnendental to this material manifestation.
Text 38
You are the original Personality of Godhead, the oldest , the ultimate sanctury of this manifested cosmic world. You are the knower of everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are the supreme ruguge, above the material modes. O limitless form! This whol cosmic manifestation is prevaded by You!
Text 39
You are air, and are the supreme controller! You are fire, You are water, and You are the moon! You are Brahma, the first living creature and You are the great-grandfather. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You a thousand times, and again and yet again!
Text 40
Obeisances to You form the front, from behind and from all sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everthing!
Text 41-42
Thinking of You as my friend, I have rashly addressed You "O Krsna" "O Yadava," "O my friend," not knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times jesting as we relaxed, lay on the same bed, or sat or ate together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. O infallible one, please excuse me for all those offenses.
Text 43
You are the father of this complete cosmic manifestation, of the moving and the nonmoving. You are its worshipable chief, the supreme spiritual master. No one is equal to You, nor can any one be one with You. then could there be anyone greater than You within the three worlds , O lord of immeasurable power?
Text 44
You are the Supreme Lord, to be worshiped by every living being. Thus I fall down to offer You my respectiful obeisances and ask Your mercy. As father tolerates the impudence of his son, a friend the impertience of a friend, or a wife the familiarity of her partner, please tolerate the wrong I may have done You.
Text 45
After seeing this universal form, which I have never seen before, I am gladdened, but at the same time my mind is distrubed with fear. Therefore please bestow Your grace upon me and reveal again Your form as the personality of Godhead, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.
Text 46
O universal form. O thousand-armed Lord, I wish to see You in Your four-armed form, with helmeted head and with club, wheel, conch and lotus flower in Your hands. I long to see You in that form.
Text 47
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna happily have I shown you, by My internal potency, this supreme universal form within the material world. No one before you has ever seen this primal form, unlimited and full of glaring effulgence.
Text 48
O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charity nor by pious acivities nor by severe penances can I be seen in this form in the material world.
Text 49
You have been pertubed and bewildered by seeing this horrible feature of Mine. Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free again from all distrubances. With a peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.
Text 50
Sanjaya said to Dhrtarastra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna having spoken thus to Arjuna,displayed His real four-armed form and at last showed His two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna.
Text 51
When Arjuna thus saw Krsna in His original form, he said: O Janardans, seeing this humanlike form, so very beautilful, I am now composed in mind, and I am testored to my original nature.
Text 52
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, this form of Mine you are now seeing is very difficult to behold, Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form, which is so dear.
Text 53
The form you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances. nor by charity, nor by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am.
Text 54
My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before before you, and can thus be seen directly, Only in this way can you enter into the mysteriesof My understanding,
Text 55
My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental specu-lation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being-he certainly comes to Me.