1 · Learn3 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.

Or browse by chapter
Chapter

Chapter 11 · The Universal Form · 55 verses

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455

Deep profile← → keys move between verses

How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Krishna’s natureChapter 11 · The Universal Form
11.4911.51

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 11.50

Krishna restores His gentle personal form

Īśvara · God

सञ्जय उवाच

इत्यर्जुनं वासुदेवस्तथोक्त्वा

स्वकं रूपं दर्शयामास भूय: ।

आश्वासयामास च भीतमेनं

भूत्वा पुन: सौम्यवपुर्महात्मा ॥ ५० ॥

sañjaya uvāca

ity arjunaṁ vāsudevas tathoktvā

svakaṁ rūpaṁ darśayām āsa bhūyaḥ

āśvāsayām āsa ca bhītam enaṁ

bhūtvā punaḥ saumya-vapur mahātmā

Translation

Sañjaya said to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, having spoken thus to Arjuna, displayed His real four-armed form and at last showed His two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

Kṛṣṇa’s Beautiful Form

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa showed His four-armed form and then His two-armed form, comforting the fearful Arjuna.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa’s form is the most beautiful, and Kṛṣṇa removed His devotee Arjuna’s fear.

  3. 3

    Cultivate love for Kṛṣṇa: only eyes filled with love can see His beautiful form.

Key points from the purport

Then Krishna shows transcendental four-armed form, then two-armed form (Saumya-vapuh)

a

Similar example of change of forms — Krishna appears to Vasudeva and Devaki as four-handed Narayana form and then transformed into an ordinary child

b

‘Saumya-vapuh’ –

Indicates a very beautiful form – Krishna’s form is the most beautiful form

Who can see this form – Ref. Brahma Samhita 5.38 “premanjana...” – Only one whose eyes are smeared with the ointment of love can see this beautiful form

Krishna shows this form because He knows Arjuna’s ultimate interest is not even the four- handed form

Further reading

Only Pure Devotees See Krishna’s Two-Armed Form

Krishna withdraws His Universal Form

Krishna shows four-armed form

Finally shows two-armed form

Krishna’s most wonderful two-armed form can be directly seen only by pure undivided devotional service

Chapter 11, section V: Only Pure Devotees See Krishna’s Two-Armed Form
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sañjayaḥ uvācaSañjaya said
  2. itithus
  3. arjunamunto Arjuna
  4. vāsudevaḥKṛṣṇa
  5. tathāin that way
  6. uktvāspeaking
  7. svakamHis own
  8. rūpamform
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: bhagavān, vibhūti.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 11.50 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to krishna’s nature?

Practice

Notice something excellent and see it as His opulence.

5

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 11 ›
6

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 11.47Krishna restores His gentle personal formBG 11.48Krishna restores His gentle personal formBG 18.78Sañjaya’s concluding certainty
Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Original Two-Handed FormA practice from BG 11.51, close to this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 4 of 9 · 10 minChapters & storiesGo chapter by chapter, with the Mahābhārata stories that explain what is happening.Back · LearnPrabhupāda's Introduction