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← Chapter 11: The Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form

Verse 11.17

Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit

किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रिणं च तेजोराशिं सर्वतो दीप्तिमन्तम् | पश्यामि त्वां दुर्निरीक्ष्यं समन्ताद्दीप्तानलार्कद्युतिमप्रमेयम् ||१७||

Transliteration (IAST)

kirīṭinaṁ gadinaṁ cakriṇaṁ ca tejo-rāśiṁ sarvato dīptimantam | paśyāmi tvāṁ durnirīkṣyaṁ samantād dīptānalārka-dyutim aprameyam ||17||

Word-by-Word Meanings

kirīṭinam-wearing a crown
gadinam-bearing a mace
cakriṇam-holding a discus
tejaḥ-rāśim-mass of radiance
dīptimantam-blazing
durnirīkṣyam-difficult to behold
dīpta-anala-arka-dyutim-with the brilliance of blazing fire and sun
aprameyam-immeasurable

Translation

I see You with crown, mace, and discus, a mass of radiance blazing everywhere, hard to look at, shining on all sides like blazing fire and sun, immeasurable.

Commentary

The divine attributes - crown, mace, and discus - identify the form as Vishnu's while the overwhelming radiance makes it nearly impossible to behold. Shankaracharya notes that 'aprameyam' (immeasurable) indicates the form cannot be grasped by any means of knowledge - it transcends all pramāṇas.

Themes

bhaktijnana