Gita : Ch-11. Slo-3.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :

Chapter-11. ( Visvarupa-darsana-yogam )

Slokam-3. { O Lord,  though I see here before me Your actual position, I yet wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.}


evametadyathattha  tvam  atmanam  paramesvara,


drastumicchami  te  rupam  aisvaram  purushottama.


paramesvara   purushottama  =  O Lord;

tvam  atmanam  yatha  atma  =  you  about  atma  ( yourself );

etat  eva  =  said,  all  ok;

te  aisvaram  rupam  =  your  glorious  form;

drshtum  iccami  -  I  wish  to  see.


The Lord said that because He entered into the material universe by His personal representation, the cosmic manifestation has been made possible and is going on.

Now as far as Arjuna is concerned, he is inspired by the statements of Krishna, but in order to convince others in the future who may think that Krishna is an ordinary person, he desires to see Him actually in His universal form, to see how He is acting from within the universe, although He is apart from it. Arjuna's asking the Lord's permission is also significant.

Since the Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is present within Arjuna himself; therefore He knows the desire of Arjuna, and He can understand that Arjuna has no special desire to see Him in His universal form, for he is completely satisfied to see Him in His personal form of Krishna.

But He can understand also that Arjuna wants to see the universal form to convince others.

He did not have any personal desire for confirmation.

Krishna also understands that Arjuna wants to see the universal form to set a criterion, for in the future there would be so many imposters who would pose themselves as incarnations of God.

The people, therefore, should be careful; one who claims to be Krishna should be prepared to show his universal form to confirm his claim to the people.


Lord Krishna is addressed as paramesvara or the Supreme Sovereign Lord.

Although Arjuna has fully accepted all that has been stated by Lord Krishna; he still desires that the Supreme Lord Krishna being the abode of all glorious attributes, out of compassion for His lieges and devotees show His resplendent, unparalleled visvarupa or divine universal form expressive of His divine, transcendental powers such as ruling, protecting, creating, maintaining, sustaining and destroying.

Only the Supreme Lord Krishna, the ultimate reality of all realities, who is sublimely unique from everything else in existence is able to reveal this form.


The reality about the Supreme Lord Krishna is being confirmed to be precisely what He has declared it to be, the total repository of extraordinary, phenomenal power and majesty.

The word evam means it is a certainty and denotes that it should not be construed that Arjuna has no faith in Lord Krishna because he desires to see His visvarupa or divine universal form possessed of full power, energy, glory, dominion and effulgence.


Arjuna continues further confirming that all Lord Krishna has stated is verily the absolute truth and that he has no doubt about it; yet still out of curiosity he desires to see Lord Krishna's resplendent visvarupa or divine universal form endowed with all knowledge, all power, all majesty, all dominion and all splendor.

To be continued  ...