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

Verse 11.30

Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit

लेलिह्यसे ग्रसमानः समन्ताल्लोकान्समग्रान्वदनैर्ज्वलद्भिः | तेजोभिरापूर्य जगत्समग्रं भासस्तवोग्राः प्रतपन्ति विष्णो ||३०||

Transliteration (IAST)

lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāl lokān samagrān vadanair jvaladbhiḥ | tejobhir āpūrya jagat samagraṁ bhāsas tavogrāḥ pratapanti viṣṇo ||30||

Word-by-Word Meanings

lelihyase-You lick/devour

grasamānaḥ-swallowing

samantāt-from all sides

lokān samagrān-all the worlds

vadanaiḥ jvaladbhiḥ-with blazing mouths

tejobhiḥ-with radiance

āpūrya-filling

ugrāḥ-fierce

Translation

You lick up and devour all the worlds from every side with Your blazing mouths. Your fierce radiance fills the entire universe and scorches it, O Vishnu.

Commentary

The cosmic form is actively consuming all worlds. The verb 'lelihyase' (licking) evokes a predatory image of Time devouring creation. Shankaracharya explains that this represents pralaya - cosmic dissolution - witnessed in real-time. The address 'Viṣṇo' reminds us this destroyer is also the all-pervading sustainer.

Themes

timebhakti