Public domain translation by Sir Edwin Arnold (1885), via Project Gutenberg. Presented unabridged.
Arjuna.<br/> This, for my soul's peace, have I heard from Thee,<br/> The unfolding of the Mystery Supreme<br/> Named Adhyatman; comprehending which,<br/> My darkness is dispelled; for now I know--<br/> O Lotus-eyed![FN#21]--whence is the birth of men,<br/> And whence their death, and what the majesties<br/> Of Thine immortal rule. Fain would I see,<br/> As thou Thyself declar'st it, Sovereign Lord!<br/> The likeness of that glory of Thy Form<br/> Wholly revealed. O Thou Divinest One!<br/> If this can be, if I may bear the sight,<br/> Make Thyself visible, Lord of all prayers!<br/> Show me Thy very self, the Eternal God!
Krishna.<br/> Gaze, then, thou Son of Pritha! I manifest for thee<br/> Those hundred thousand thousand shapes that clothe my Mystery:<br/> I show thee all my semblances, infinite, rich, divine,<br/> My changeful hues, my countless forms. See! in this face of mine,<br/> Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aswins, and Maruts; see<br/> Wonders unnumbered, Indian Prince! revealed to none save thee.<br/> Behold! this is the Universe!--Look! what is live and dead<br/> I gather all in one--in Me! Gaze, as thy lips have said,<br/> On GOD ETERNAL, VERY GOD! See Me! see what thou prayest!
Thou canst not!--nor, with human eyes, Arjuna! ever mayest!<br/> Therefore I give thee sense divine. Have other eyes, new light!<br/> And, look! This is My glory, unveiled to mortal sight!
Sanjaya.<br/> Then, O King! the God, so saying,<br/> Stood, to Pritha's Son displaying<br/> All the splendour, wonder, dread<br/> Of His vast Almighty-head.<br/> Out of countless eyes beholding,<br/> Out of countless mouths commanding,<br/> Countless mystic forms enfolding<br/> In one Form: supremely standing<br/> Countless radiant glories wearing,<br/> Countless heavenly weapons bearing,<br/> Crowned with garlands of star-clusters,<br/> Robed in garb of woven lustres,<br/> Breathing from His perfect Presence<br/> Breaths of every subtle essence<br/> Of all heavenly odours; shedding<br/> Blinding brilliance; overspreading--<br/> Boundless, beautiful--all spaces<br/> With His all-regarding faces;<br/> So He showed! If there should rise<br/> Suddenly within the skies<br/> Sunburst of a thousand suns<br/> Flooding earth with beams undeemed-of,<br/> Then might be that Holy One's<br/> Majesty and radiance dreamed of!
So did Pandu's Son behold<br/> All this universe enfold<br/> All its huge diversity<br/> Into one vast shape, and be<br/> Visible, and viewed, and blended<br/> In one Body--subtle, splendid,<br/> Nameless--th' All-comprehending<br/> God of Gods, the Never-Ending<br/> Deity!
But, sore amazed,<br/> Thrilled, o'erfilled, dazzled, and dazed,<br/> Arjuna knelt; and bowed his head,<br/> And clasped his palms; and cried, and said:
Arjuna.<br/> Yea! I have seen! I see!<br/> Lord! all is wrapped in Thee!<br/> The gods are in Thy glorious frame! the creatures<br/> Of earth, and heaven, and hell<br/> In Thy Divine form dwell,<br/> And in Thy countenance shine all the features
Of Brahma, sitting lone<br/> Upon His lotus-throne;<br/> Of saints and sages, and the serpent races<br/> Ananta, Vasuki;<br/> Yea! mightiest Lord! I see<br/> Thy thousand thousand arms, and breasts, and faces,<br/> And eyes,--on every side<br/> Perfect, diversified;<br/> And nowhere end of Thee, nowhere beginning,<br/> Nowhere a centre! Shifts--<br/> Wherever soul's gaze lifts--<br/> Thy central Self, all-wielding, and all-winning!
Infinite King! I see<br/> The anadem on Thee,<br/> The club, the shell, the discus; see Thee burning<br/> In beams insufferable,<br/> Lighting earth, heaven, and hell<br/> With brilliance blazing, glowing, flashing; turning
Darkness to dazzling day,<br/> Look I whichever way;<br/> Ah, Lord! I worship Thee, the Undivided,<br/> The Uttermost of thought,<br/> The Treasure-Palace wrought<br/> To hold the wealth of the worlds; the Shield provided
To shelter Virtue's laws;<br/> The Fount whence Life's stream draws<br/> All waters of all rivers of all being:<br/> The One Unborn, Unending:<br/> Unchanging and Unblending!<br/> With might and majesty, past thought, past seeing!
Silver of moon and gold<br/> Of sun are glories rolled<br/> From Thy great eyes; Thy visage, beaming tender<br/> Throughout the stars and skies,<br/> Doth to warm life surprise<br/> Thy Universe. The worlds are filled with wonder
Of Thy perfections! Space<br/> Star-sprinkled, and void place<br/> From pole to pole of the Blue, from bound to bound,<br/> Hath Thee in every spot,<br/> Thee, Thee!--Where Thou art not,<br/> O Holy, Marvellous Form! is nowhere found!
O Mystic, Awful One!<br/> At sight of Thee, made known,<br/> The Three Worlds quake; the lower gods draw nigh Thee;<br/> They fold their palms, and bow<br/> Body, and breast, and brow,<br/> And, whispering worship, laud and magnify Thee!
Rishis and Siddhas cry<br/> "Hail! Highest Majesty!"<br/> From sage and singer breaks the hymn of glory<br/> In dulcet harmony,<br/> Sounding the praise of Thee;<br/> While countless companies take up the story,
Rudras, who ride the storms,<br/> Th' Adityas' shining forms,<br/> Vasus and Sadhyas, Viswas, Ushmapas;<br/> Maruts, and those great Twins<br/> The heavenly, fair, Aswins,<br/> Gandharvas, Rakshasas, Siddhas, and Asuras,[FN#22]--
These see Thee, and revere<br/> In sudden-stricken fear;<br/> Yea! the Worlds,--seeing Thee with form stupendous,<br/> With faces manifold,<br/> With eyes which all behold,<br/> Unnumbered eyes, vast arms, members tremendous,
Flanks, lit with sun and star,<br/> Feet planted near and far,<br/> Tushes of terror, mouths wrathful and tender;--<br/> The Three wide Worlds before Thee<br/> Adore, as I adore Thee,<br/> Quake, as I quake, to witness so much splendour!
I mark Thee strike the skies<br/> With front, in wondrous wise<br/> Huge, rainbow-painted, glittering; and thy mouth<br/> Opened, and orbs which see<br/> All things, whatever be<br/> In all Thy worlds, east, west, and north and south.
O Eyes of God! O Head!<br/> My strength of soul is fled,<br/> Gone is heart's force, rebuked is mind's desire!<br/> When I behold Thee so,<br/> With awful brows a-glow,<br/> With burning glance, and lips lighted by fire
Fierce as those flames which shall<br/> Consume, at close of all,<br/> Earth, Heaven! Ah me! I see no Earth and Heaven!<br/> Thee, Lord of Lords! I see,<br/> Thee only-only Thee!<br/> Now let Thy mercy unto me be given,
Thou Refuge of the World!<br/> Lo! to the cavern hurled<br/> Of Thy wide-opened throat, and lips white-tushed,<br/> I see our noblest ones,<br/> Great Dhritarashtra's sons,<br/> Bhishma, Drona, and Karna, caught and crushed!
The Kings and Chiefs drawn in,<br/> That gaping gorge within;<br/> The best of both these armies torn and riven!<br/> Between Thy jaws they lie<br/> Mangled full bloodily,<br/> Ground into dust and death! Like streams down-driven
With helpless haste, which go<br/> In headlong furious flow<br/> Straight to the gulfing deeps of th' unfilled ocean,<br/> So to that flaming cave<br/> Those heroes great and brave<br/> Pour, in unending streams, with helpless motion!
Like moths which in the night<br/> Flutter towards a light,<br/> Drawn to their fiery doom, flying and dying,<br/> So to their death still throng,<br/> Blind, dazzled, borne along<br/> Ceaselessly, all those multitudes, wild flying!
Thou, that hast fashioned men,<br/> Devourest them again,<br/> One with another, great and small, alike!<br/> The creatures whom Thou mak'st,<br/> With flaming jaws Thou tak'st,<br/> Lapping them up! Lord God! Thy terrors strike
From end to end of earth,<br/> Filling life full, from birth<br/> To death, with deadly, burning, lurid dread!<br/> Ah, Vishnu! make me know<br/> Why is Thy visage so?<br/> Who art Thou, feasting thus upon Thy dead?
Who? awful Deity!<br/> I bow myself to Thee,<br/> Namostu Te, Devavara! Prasid![FN#23]<br/> O Mightiest Lord! rehearse<br/> Why hast Thou face so fierce?<br/> Whence doth this aspect horrible proceed?
Krishna.<br/> Thou seest Me as Time who kills,<br/> Time who brings all to doom,<br/> The Slayer Time, Ancient of Days, come hither to consume;<br/> Excepting thee, of all these hosts of hostile chiefs arrayed,<br/> There stands not one shall leave alive the battlefield! Dismayed<br/> No longer be! Arise! obtain renown! destroy thy foes!<br/> Fight for the kingdom waiting thee when thou hast vanquished those.<br/> By Me they fall--not thee! the stroke of death is dealt them now,<br/> Even as they show thus gallantly; My instrument art thou!<br/> Strike, strong-armed Prince, at Drona! at Bhishma strike! deal death<br/> On Karna, Jyadratha; stay all their warlike breath!<br/> 'Tis I who bid them perish! Thou wilt but slay the slain;<br/> Fight! they must fall, and thou must live, victor upon this plain!
Sanjaya.<br/> Hearing mighty Keshav's word,<br/> Tremblingly that helmed Lord<br/> Clasped his lifted palms, and--praying<br/> Grace of Krishna--stood there, saying,<br/> With bowed brow and accents broken,<br/> These words, timorously spoken:
Arjuna.<br/> Worthily, Lord of Might!<br/> The whole world hath delight<br/> In Thy surpassing power, obeying Thee;<br/> The Rakshasas, in dread<br/> At sight of Thee, are sped<br/> To all four quarters; and the company
Of Siddhas sound Thy name.<br/> How should they not proclaim<br/> Thy Majesties, Divinest, Mightiest?<br/> Thou Brahm, than Brahma greater!<br/> Thou Infinite Creator!<br/> Thou God of gods, Life's Dwelling-place and Rest!
Thou, of all souls the Soul!<br/> The Comprehending Whole!<br/> Of being formed, and formless being the Framer;<br/> O Utmost One! O Lord!<br/> Older than eld, Who stored<br/> The worlds with wealth of life! O Treasure-Claimer,
Who wottest all, and art<br/> Wisdom Thyself! O Part<br/> In all, and All; for all from Thee have risen<br/> Numberless now I see<br/> The aspects are of Thee!<br/> Vayu[FN#24] Thou art, and He who keeps the prison
Of Narak, Yama dark;<br/> And Agni's shining spark;<br/> Varuna's waves are Thy waves. Moon and starlight<br/> Are Thine! Prajapati<br/> Art Thou, and 'tis to Thee<br/> They knelt in worshipping the old world's far light,
The first of mortal men.<br/> Again, Thou God! again<br/> A thousand thousand times be magnified!<br/> Honour and worship be--<br/> Glory and praise,--to Thee<br/> Namo, Namaste, cried on every side;
Cried here, above, below,<br/> Uttered when Thou dost go,<br/> Uttered where Thou dost come! Namo! we call;<br/> Namostu! God adored!<br/> Namostu! Nameless Lord!<br/> Hail to Thee! Praise to Thee! Thou One in all;
For Thou art All! Yea, Thou!<br/> Ah! if in anger now<br/> Thou shouldst remember I did think Thee Friend,<br/> Speaking with easy speech,<br/> As men use each to each;<br/> Did call Thee "Krishna," "Prince," nor comprehend
Thy hidden majesty,<br/> The might, the awe of Thee;<br/> Did, in my heedlessness, or in my love,<br/> On journey, or in jest,<br/> Or when we lay at rest,<br/> Sitting at council, straying in the grove,
Alone, or in the throng,<br/> Do Thee, most Holy! wrong,<br/> Be Thy grace granted for that witless sin!<br/> For Thou art, now I know,<br/> Father of all below,<br/> Of all above, of all the worlds within
Guru of Gurus; more<br/> To reverence and adore<br/> Than all which is adorable and high!<br/> How, in the wide worlds three<br/> Should any equal be?<br/> Should any other share Thy Majesty?
Therefore, with body bent<br/> And reverent intent,<br/> I praise, and serve, and seek Thee, asking grace.<br/> As father to a son,<br/> As friend to friend, as one<br/> Who loveth to his lover, turn Thy face
In gentleness on me!<br/> Good is it I did see<br/> This unknown marvel of Thy Form! But fear<br/> Mingles with joy! Retake,<br/> Dear Lord! for pity's sake<br/> Thine earthly shape, which earthly eyes may bear!
Be merciful, and show<br/> The visage that I know;<br/> Let me regard Thee, as of yore, arrayed<br/> With disc and forehead-gem,<br/> With mace and anadem,<br/> Thou that sustainest all things! Undismayed
Let me once more behold<br/> The form I loved of old,<br/> Thou of the thousand arms and countless eyes!<br/> This frightened heart is fain<br/> To see restored again<br/> My Charioteer, in Krishna's kind disguise.
Krishna.<br/> Yea! thou hast seen, Arjuna! because I loved thee well,<br/> The secret countenance of Me, revealed by mystic spell,<br/> Shining, and wonderful, and vast, majestic, manifold,<br/> Which none save thou in all the years had favour to behold;<br/> For not by Vedas cometh this, nor sacrifice, nor alms,<br/> Nor works well-done, nor penance long, nor prayers, nor chaunted<br/> psalms,<br/> That mortal eyes should bear to view the Immortal Soul unclad,<br/> Prince of the Kurus! This was kept for thee alone! Be glad!<br/> Let no more trouble shake thy heart, because thine eyes have seen<br/> My terror with My glory. As I before have been<br/> So will I be again for thee; with lightened heart behold!<br/> Once more I am thy Krishna, the form thou knew'st of old!
Sanjaya.<br/> These words to Arjuna spake<br/> Vasudev, and straight did take<br/> Back again the semblance dear<br/> Of the well-loved charioteer;<br/> Peace and joy it did restore<br/> When the Prince beheld once more<br/> Mighty BRAHMA's form and face<br/> Clothed in Krishna's gentle grace.
Arjuna.<br/> Now that I see come back, Janardana!<br/> This friendly human frame, my mind can think<br/> Calm thoughts once more; my heart beats still again!
Krishna.<br/> Yea! it was wonderful and terrible<br/> To view me as thou didst, dear Prince! The gods<br/> Dread and desire continually to view!<br/> Yet not by Vedas, nor from sacrifice,<br/> Nor penance, nor gift-giving, nor with prayer<br/> Shall any so behold, as thou hast seen!<br/> Only by fullest service, perfect faith,<br/> And uttermost surrender am I known<br/> And seen, and entered into, Indian Prince!<br/> Who doeth all for Me; who findeth Me<br/> In all; adoreth always; loveth all<br/> Which I have made, and Me, for Love's sole end<br/> That man, Arjuna! unto Me doth wend.
HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XI. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA,<br/> Entitled "Viswarupadarsanam,"<br/> Or "The Book of the Manifesting of the One and Manifold."