BHAGAVAD-GITA 11:14

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 11:14

 

tatah sa vismayavisto

hrsta-roma dhananjayah

pranamya sirasa devam

krtanjalir abhasata

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

tatah--thereafter; sah--he; vismaya-avistah--being overwhelmed with

wonder; hrsta-roma--with his bodily hairs standing on end due to his

great ecstasy; dhananjayah--Arjuna; pranamya--offering obeisances;

sirasa--with the head; devam--to the Supreme Personality of Godhead;

krta-anjalih--with folded hands; abhasata--began to speak.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Then, bewildered and astonished, his hair standing on end, Arjuna

bowed his head to offer obeisances and with folded hands began to pray

to the Supreme Lord.

 

PURPORT

 

Once the divine vision is revealed, the relationship between Krsna and

Arjuna changes immediately. Before, Krsna and Arjuna had a

relationship based on friendship, but here, after the revelation,

Arjuna is offering obeisances with great respect, and with folded

hands he is praying to Krsna. He is praising the universal form. Thus

Arjuna's relationship becomes one of wonder rather than friendship.

Great devotees see Krsna as the reservoir of all relationships. In the

scriptures there are twelve basic kinds of relationships mentioned,

and all of them are present in Krsna. It is said that He is the ocean

of all the relationships exchanged between two living entities,

between the gods, or between the Supreme Lord and His devotees.

 

Here Arjuna was inspired by the relationship of wonder, and in that

wonder, although he was by nature very sober, calm and quiet, he

became ecstatic, his hair stood up, and he began to offer his

obeisances unto the Supreme Lord with folded hands. He was not, of

course, afraid. He was affected by the wonders of the Supreme Lord.

The immediate context is wonder; his natural loving friendship was

overwhelmed by wonder, and thus he reacted in this way.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.