Praises Sung by Arjuna and
the end of the Vision
After seeing the Universal form and
after listening to all Lord Krishna
said about why he had ordained the war and what the significance of that
terrible form was, Arjuna was greatly
moved. Folding both hands and trembling (in delight mingled with fear), bowing
to Krishna, he said in a voice choked with emotion, “Oh
Rishikesha, when You are praised, the entire world rejoices and get
attracted to You, the demons fly hither and thither (out of fear), everybody
bows down to you, including the siddhas.”
He continued in the same vein, “Who will not bow down to You, oh
great soul? You, the ancient Lord, are greater than Brahma, the creator
Himself. You are limitless, Lord of all devas, the refuge of the entire
world. You are beyond existence and non existence. You are the ancient Lord, the
One at the beginning, the Purusha or the cosmic soul. You are the
greatest shelter of the entire world. You are the Knower and the Known, the
great refuge. You are pervading the entire universe in Your infinite glory.
Vayu, the Lord of wind, Yama, the Lord of the deads,
Agni, the Lord of fire, Varuna, the Lord of water, the Lord of
Moon, the ancient progenitors and their fathers, all are You. I bow down to You
thousand times. I bow down to You once again, again and again. I bow down to You
in the front, at Your back, I bow down to You who is the All in All. You are of
infinite power and unlimited strength. You have in You everything and hence You
are everything.”
Arjuna now has a different line of thought.
Thinking of his previous relationship with friend Krishna, he is afraid,
of all the jests and natural friendly behavior with the Supreme Lord. He
therefore says, “By thinking you all along as friend, whatever I have said in
jest, by calling You, the Lord, as “oh Krishna”, “oh Yadav”, “oh
friend”, without knowing Your glory and real nature, all may have been from
either error or (friendly) love. Whatever wrongs that I have committed while
sleeping, eating, sitting and roaming together, in front of You or others,
please forgive those deviations, Oh immeasurable One.”
“You are the father of this Universe, You are to be worshipped,
greater than the Guru. No One exists in this world who is equal to You, so none
can be greater than You, the incomparable One. Therefore I bow to You by lying
down in front of You, please forgive Me, the most adorable One. Just as a father
forgives his son, or a friend forgives a friend, or a lover forgives his dear
one, so please forbear with me. By seeing the terrible universal form which I
have never seen before, I am delighted, but also I am very afraid. Please show
me once again your original pleasant form. Be merciful, Oh Lord of lords and
refuge of all. I would like to see that diadem decked form of yours, having mace
and disc and the four arms, oh thousand armed, oh master of the
Universe.”
The Lord said, “Being satisfied with you, I have shown you the
great universal form of mine by the special Yoga power of mine. This
divine form of great power and infinite and endless span has not been seen by
anybody else before you. Not veda, sacrifices, study of scriptures, nor
gifts or charities, nor ascetic practices, nor difficult and painstaking
rituals, are going to be of any use in revealing the form which I have revealed
to you. Therefore do not be afraid and get rid of the stupefaction which has set
in by seeing this terrible form of mine. I’ll show you the benign form by which
you will be able to recover yourself and be joyous.”
With this, the Lord showed Arjuna His original form once
again and comforted him by assuming the benign and pleasant nature.
Arjuna was much pleased and said that he is now
comforted and once again recovered his steadiness.
The Lord then said that this (terrible universal) form of His,
which He revealed to Arjuna, is rare to see and demigods or devas
always wish to see this form. However He is not seen in that form through (study
of) Vedas, nor that form is seen through ascetic merits, nor through
gifts and charities, nor through grand sacrifices. Only devotees of the highest
standard, who constantly seek His companion and think of Him, He can be known,
seen and can be revealed in that form. Such devotees are those who always
perform His work (like service, worship, meditation and recital of name), who
are immersed in His thoughts, who are devoted to Him being unattached to any
worldly thing, who never bear any ill will against anybody, and they attain to
Him only.
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