BG 11.44 — Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 11.44Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · triṣṭubh

तस्मात् प्रणम्य प्रणिधाय कायं प्रसादये त्वामहमीशमीड्यम् ।

पितेव पुत्रस्य सखेव सख्युः प्रियः प्रियायार्हसि देव सोढुम् ॥

tasmāt praṇamya praṇidhāya kāyaṃ

prasādaye tvām aham īśam īḍyam

piteva putrasya sakheva sakhyuḥ

priyaḥ priyāyārhasi deva soḍhum

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Prostrating myself, body laid flat before you, I seek your grace, O Lord worthy of all praise. Bear my offense as a father bears a son's, as a friend a friend's, as a beloved the one dear to them.

ekras · bhāṣya

Therefore, having bowed and laid the body flat, I prasadaye You, Isha, Idya. As a father with a son, as a friend with a friend, as a beloved with the beloved — bear with me, deva. Three relational analogies fall in sequence: pita-putra, sakha-sakha, priya-priya. The disciple asks Krishna to bear with him at every register of intimate relation.

Shankara reads the three analogies precisely. The pita-putra relation: the father bears the son's mistakes patiently. The sakha-sakha relation: the friend bears the friend's lapses warmly. The priya-priya relation: the beloved bears the beloved's flaws lovingly. The disciple is invoking each level of intimate forbearance Krishna can offer. Sodhum arhasi — please bear, please forgive.

Madhusudana reads with characteristic warmth: each relational analogy is precisely calibrated to Krishna's actual relation with Arjuna. As pita Krishna has parented the disciple; as sakha Krishna has befriended; as priya Krishna has loved. The disciple invokes all three because all three are real.

Ramanuja reads with characteristic warmth: Bhagavan is pati-vatsala; the verse asks for the natural pati-vatsalya in three modes.

Madhva reads on the bheda-frame: the eternally distinct jiva asks svatantra Hari to receive him through these three modes of dependent relation.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: the prasada flows through pita-mode, sakha-mode, priya-mode; the bhakta asks for any or all.

Shridhara reads cleanly: bow, body laid flat, three relations invoked, please bear.

Context

where

Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · meter triṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 11.43

You are the father of all that moves and does not move in this world, its greatest teacher and its most worthy object of worship. No one in the three worlds equals you, and none could exceed you, O Lord of incomparable power.

What's going on

Prostrating myself, body laid flat before you, I seek your grace, O Lord worthy of all praise. Bear my offense as a father bears a son's, as a friend a friend's, as a beloved the one dear to them.

Sūtras through this verse (46)

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

11.1Now: experience what was taught.───→here11.44───→11.55See the world as Śiva's own body.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)between

11.1Arjuna confirms the bracket from inside.───→here11.44───→18.66The teaching closes with one command.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

10.14Faith comes only from the Lord's own giving.───→here11.44───→11.55Grace-soul acts only when the Lord wills.

show all 46

AbhinavaguptaclassicalC

Vision is the structural centerbetween

11.8The eye is given, never earned by work.───→here11.44───→11.49Cosmic returns to gracious; ananya means non-dual.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

9.4He pervades, yet is not in any of it.───→here11.44───→11.46Cosmic and gracious one self-luminous.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

11.34Consciousness itself swallows the cosmos.───→here11.44───→12.5Every 'Me' from Krishna is Śiva-consciousness speaking.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalH

Bhakti as non-dual recognitionbetween

9.22Consciousness tending its own self-knowing modes.───→here11.44───→11.49Ananya bhakti is non-dual recognition.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerbetween

11.35By grace-nature, the secret discloses itself.───→here11.44───→18.62Peace by grace — never by accumulation of work.

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)between

11.1The aiśvarya-delusion now to be removed.───→here11.44───→12.1Sa-guṇa or nir-guṇa, which path wins?

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

9.27Whatever you do, do it as offering.───→here11.44───→11.55Five clauses, one shelter: mat-karma-kṛt.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

10.10I give the buddhi-yoga to those who love.───→here11.44───→11.54Undivided love beholds it.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

9.32Even the lowest birth reaches Me through this.───→here11.44───→11.55Five clauses for the one who is Mine.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

11.13Arjuna sees all at once.───→here11.44───→13.2The whole vibhūti clinches sāmānādhikaraṇya.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata similebetween

9.34Set toward Me, the seeker's whole posture.───→here11.44───→11.55He is the one telos.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalE

Field and field-knower as Parameśvaraapproach

───→here11.44───→13.1One knower in every field — Parameśvara.

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktaapproach

───→here11.44───→13.20Both natures cause the body's binding.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerexit

11.34Already slain — the question is finally retired.───→here11.44───→

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

9.22Yogakshema as offering returned───→here11.44───→11.55Five offering-clauses

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

9.22The undivided ones the Lord himself sustains.───→here11.44───→11.55The whole Gītā distilled to five offering-clauses.

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesbetween

9.22Constant thought of Me is self-contemplation itself.───→here11.44───→11.55The five-clause crystal is bhakti named whole.

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherbetween

11.1I worship the unborn, the self-luminous teacher.───→here11.44───→11.55With awe I praise him, Kāśirāja, my teacher.

MadhusūdanaclassicalH

Krishna with form is the ground beneath formless Brahmanbetween

10.8From Me everything flows; wise ones know this and worship.───→here11.44───→11.55The crystal verse names the saguṇa in absolute form.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

11.1Arjuna marks the universal moha cured.───→here11.44───→18.73Confusion gone, memory gained — the cure complete.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

11.16Aneka- is not just two-or-more.───→here11.44───→13.5Brahma-sūtra is text, not just utterance.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

11.16Many-armed is Viṣṇu, not a pantheon.───→here11.44───→12.1Beyond avyakta is puruṣa, and Viṣṇu.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

9.25Each worship reaches its own destination.───→here11.44───→11.55Five-clause sādhana names the apex.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātrabetween

11.16Aṣṭādhyāyī 5.4.78 settles aneka-.───→here11.44───→15.1Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.4 settles aśvattha.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

11.16Aneka- means many; no upacāra needed.───→here11.44───→13.5Brahma-sūtra is text, not paraphrase.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markbetween

9.32The unsheltered take shelter and reach Me.───→here11.44───→11.54Undivided love — sādhana stripped, grace-clothed.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

9.32The unsheltered run to their cowherd-Lord.───→here11.44───→11.54The form revealed is Krishna in blue, not abstract.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordbetween

6.47Stilling the mind into Vāsudeva — not into nothing.───→here11.44───→11.54Vision opens only to the love-stilled mind.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

9.32Even the unsheltered reach the highest goal.───→here11.44───→11.54Bhāgavata + Brahmasūtra fuse at the vision-verse.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

11.21The cosmic-form catalogue is bracketed.───→here11.44───→11.45The frame, not the catalogue, carries the doctrine.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

11.43Teacher, and teacher's teacher beyond compare.───→here11.44───→18.64Hear the supreme word spoken because dear.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homebetween

9.34Mind on Me, bowed to Me — you reach Me.───→here11.44───→11.54By undivided love alone — knowable, seen.

ŚrīdharaclassicalH

The grammar of single-pointednessbetween

9.22The undivided are my one foundation.───→here11.44───→11.54Undivided love alone unlocks the world-form.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayexit

9.32Women, śūdras, all, also reach the goal.───→here11.44───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

Prapatti — bhakti's access for those the long path defeatsbetween

9.34Mind on Me, devoted — you reach Me.───→here11.44───→11.54Bhakti without rival is the seeing-instrument.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

9.1Chapter 7's residue of wonder forces 9's disclosure.───→here11.44───→11.54The saguṇa-bhakta privileged ahead of 12.1.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalJ

Sañjaya's frame — evidentiary, not ornamentalbetween

1.2Dṛṣṭvā tu — Sañjaya speaks to be heard later.───→here11.44───→11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathbetween · v2

9.30Even the wrong-doer───→here11.44───→11.54Only by undivided bhakti

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterbetween

9.30Even a great wrongdoer, fixed on Me, is good.───→here11.44───→11.55Five clauses join into one shelter.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here11.44───→

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessapproach · other

───→here11.44───→12.13Friendly, compassionate

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

11.32Wrist, kalai. Kala, time. 'Kalo'smi loka-kshaya-krit pravriddhah.' Gaurav arrive───→here11.44───→18.47Pointing finger. Svadharma. 'Shreyan svadharmo vigunah para-dharmat svanushthita

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingbetween

10.42With one part I pervade this whole world, and stand.───→here11.44───→11.55Acting for Me, holding Me supreme — that is the road.

Śabda · lemmas (17 unique · 20 occurrences)

प्रियः·प्रियाय priya ×2 — dear, beloved · nominative masculine singular noun / dative masculine singular noun
प्रसादये pra-√sāday — to propitiate, please (caus. of pra- + √sad) · present indicative 1st person singular verb
प्रणम्य praṇam — to bow down, salute (pra- + √nam) · conv
प्रणिधाय praṇidhā — to apply, fix attention (pra- + ni- + √dhā) · conv
सखा·सख्युः sakhi ×2 — friend, companion · nominative masculine singular noun / genitive masculine singular noun
पुत्रस्य putra — son, child · genitive masculine singular noun
त्वाम् tvad — you (2nd person pronoun stem) · accusative singular noun · also at 10.13, 11.42, 12.1, 12.5
ईड्यम् īḍ — to praise, extol (verbal root) · accusative masculine singular gdv noun
सोढुम् sah — to bear, endure (verbal root) · infinitive

show all 17

इव iva ×2 — like, as if
तस्मात् tasmāt — therefore, from that · also at 2.30, 2.68, 3.15, 3.19, 3.41, 4.15 +5
कायम् kāya — body · accusative masculine singular noun
अहम् mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · nominative singular noun
ईशम् īśa — lord, ruler (from √īś) · accusative masculine singular noun
पिता pitṛ — father; ancestor; the pitṛs (manes) · nominative masculine singular noun
अर्हसि √arh — to be worthy, deserve (verbal root) · present indicative 2nd person singular verb
देव deva — god, deity, celestial being; the devas · vocative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01When you have seen something so overwhelming that normal speech fails, what is the honest posture — composed argument or exposed vulnerability? What does Arjuna's daṇḍavat prostration say about how acknowledgment works?
02The verse uses three relational registers simultaneously: father/son (power + care), friend/friend (equality + loyalty), beloved/beloved (intimacy + longing). Why does Arjuna need all three rather than just one? What does each register grant that the others do not?

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03Śrīdhara glosses sakhā as nirupādhi-bandhu — a friend without qualifying conditions. What would it mean in practice to approach the divine, or another person, as a nirupādhi-bandhu rather than as a transactional partner?
04Madhusūdana grounds the appeal in ananya-śaraṇatva — having no other refuge. Is that claim a confession of weakness or a statement of ontological precision? How does the logic change depending on which reading you take?
05Vallabha reads the Lord's very presence as chariot-driver (sārathya) as the prior act of vātsalya — grace already extended before any request. If forgiveness is already inherent in the relationship, why is the formal petition still made? What work does the asking do?
06All six schools agree the body must be physically laid down (praṇidhāya, daṇḍavat). Why does the tradition insist on bodily enactment rather than mental intention alone? What is lost if the prostration remains only interior?
07The verse addresses Bhagavān simultaneously as Īśa (sovereign lord), Īḍya (worthy of praise), and Deva (luminous god). Each title carries a different valence of the relationship. Which title does your own tradition or temperament reach for first, and what does that reveal?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you realize you have been operating from a contracted, ego-driven position in a relationship — a meeting you dominated, a judgment you imposed prematurely — do not explain or justify. Instead: stop fully, physically lower your posture (even briefly, in private), and name the specific lapse clearly to yourself before speaking to the other person. The Advaita move is not emotional self-flagellation but honest cognitive reset: the jīva that spoke from ignorance cannot redeem itself by cleverer speech; only acknowledgment of the lapse and request for forbearance clears the ground for right understanding.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In any close relationship — team, family, partnership — when you have caused harm, lead with the appeal to the other's highest nature (their parama-kāruṇikatva), not with a defense of your intentions. Rāmānuja's insight: the other person's capacity to forgive is not a weakness you are exploiting but an attribute of their own excellence. Naming that — 'I know this is not who you are at your best, and I am asking you to be that person now' — honors both parties and grounds the repair in the relationship's own organic strength.

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Dvaita

Practice what Dvaita calls śaraṇāgati — complete surrender of the outcome to the other party — in situations where you have no leverage and no claim. At work, when you have made a decision that harmed a colleague or a team, resist the reflex to negotiate terms of forgiveness. Simply state the harm clearly, state your regret, and leave the response entirely to them. The Dvaita teaching is that the gap between persons is real and unbridgeable by cleverness; the only bridge is the other's freely given grace.

Śuddhādvaita

Notice where, in an important relationship, the other person is already showing up for you — already in the chariot with you — despite your behavior. Vallabha's reading: the Lord's sārathya (showing up, driving) is the prior grace; our petition only makes conscious what is already operating. In practice: before asking for forgiveness, first name aloud, to yourself, one specific way the other person has already been generous or patient. Let that recognition precede the request; it changes the quality of the asking.

Bhakti

Develop the skill of being a nirupādhi-bandhu — an unconditional companion — to at least one person in your life, and consciously ask for that quality of friendship from at least one person. When you are in conflict, explicitly name the register you are appealing to: 'I am not asking as your subordinate or as a debtor, I am asking as your friend without conditions.' Śrīdhara's gloss reminds us that most human forgiveness-seeking unconsciously mixes in negotiation; naming the unconditional register separates it.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's ananya-śaraṇatva is the interior preparation before any outward petition: fully accept, for a moment, that you genuinely have no other option — no workaround, no alternative relationship, no self-rescue. Let that land as fact, not as performance. From that place, the request for forgiveness carries a different weight — it is not strategy but truth. Try this as a brief daily practice: in one difficult situation you are carrying, ask yourself 'what would I say if I truly had no other refuge?' — then say exactly that.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 11, Verse 44: Krishna to Arjuna — Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga