Bhagavatgita a detailed study- chapter 11The Cosmic Form

July 8, 2009

44.thasmaath pranamya praNiDhaaya kaayam

prasaadhaye thvaam aham eesam eedyam

pitheva puthrasya sakheva sakhyuH

priyaH priyaaya arhasi dheva soDum

Therefore I bow down to you, prostrating, and implore you the revered Lord, please forgive me as a father does his son, a friend his friend and a lover his beloved.

praNiDhaaya kaayam- Prostrating with the whole body, which implies total surrender.

Arjuna implores the Lord to forgive him like a father, a friend and a lover. This refers to his words, pramaadhaath, pranayena and avahaasaarTham in his earlier slokas. He mentioned his ignorant actions towards Krishna due to pramaadha, lack of respect, or praNaya, affection or avahaasa, friendly banter. When a son behaves in a manner which lacks respect due to closeness with the father, he would not mind it and would forgive it. Similarly when the beloved does so, out of affection the lover would take it in the right spirit. And when a friend playfully teases, his friend accepts it. Hence Arjuna asks Krishna to forgive him giving three examples.

45.adhrshtapoorvam hrshithosmi dhrshtvaa

bhayena cha prajjvalitham mano me

thadheva me dharSaya dheva roopam

praseedha dhevesa jagannivaasa

I am delighted to see what was never seen before but my mind shudders with fear. May you be pleased oh the Lord of devas and the abode of the universe and show me the same form (seen by me earlier.)

The previous form Arjuna wishes to see is not the form of Krishnavasudeva but the form of the Lord he was accustomed to see as the form to be worshipped. This is made clear in the next sloka

46. kireetinam gadhinam chakrahastham

icChaami thvaam dharshtum aham thaThaiva

thenaiva roopena chathurbhujena

sahasrabaaho bhava viSvamoorthe

I wish to see you in the form having four arms, wearing the crown, the mace and the discus in your hand. Oh the thousand armed one, the Lord of the Universe, please become the same form with only four arms.

The form of the Lord whom Arjuna is accustomed to see as the form to be worshipped is that of Lord Narayana with a crown and four arms weilding shanka chakra gadha padhma , shanka, the conch, which is pranavasvarupa, representing the call of the divine, the gadha, mace, which gives a blow when one swerves from the right path, chakra, the discus which chops the head if the wrongdoer does not listen and reform. Padhma, the lotus signifies the peace or bliss when one listens to the Lord and becomes His devotee.

Arjuna has seen the cosmic form which gave him both exhilaration and also fear. He could not withstand the magnificence for long and wishes to witness the divinity in a form known to him which is pleasing and serene.

From the slokas that follow it is evident that the Lord showed Arjuna His form as Narayana, subsequently appearing as Krishna, the son of Vasudeva.