Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Verse 5

Bhagavad Gita 11.5

The divine cannot be contained in one shape.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla. Commentary AI-drafted, human-reviewed. Reviewed June 2026. Methodology →

श्री भगवानुवाचपश्य मे पार्थ रूपाणि शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः ।
नानाविधानि दिव्यानि नानावर्णाकृतीनि च ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
श्रीभगवान् बोले हे पृथानन्दन अब मेरे अनेक तरहके, अनेक अनेक वर्णों और आकृतियोंवाले सैकड़ोंहजारों दिव्यरूपोंको तू देख ॥
English
The Blessed Lord said: See, Partha, my forms in hundreds and thousands, diverse, divine, and of many colors and shapes.

What this verse means

Krishna tells Arjuna to look at his countless divine forms, each with different colors and shapes.

Context & commentary

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna has asked to see Krishna's cosmic form. Krishna begins to reveal it by inviting him to look at countless divine forms, each unlike the other. The teaching is preparing Arjuna for awe.

Why this verse still matters

You think you know someone by one role, one mood, one label. Then a crisis opens and you see how many forms a single life can hold.

The takeaway

The divine is not narrow or single-faced. Reality is far larger than one fixed image.

Word-by-word translation

श्री भगवानुवाच (the Blessed Lord said) / पश्य (see) / मे (my) / पार्थ (Partha) / रूपाणि (forms) / शतशः (in hundreds) / अथ (and) / सहस्रशः (in thousands) / नानाविधानि (of many kinds) / दिव्यानि (divine) / नाना-वर्ण-आकृतीनि (of many colors and shapes) / च (and)

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