BG 11.46 — Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 11.46Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · triṣṭubh

किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रहस्तमिच्छामि त्वां द्रष्टुमहं तथैव ।

तेनैव रूपेण चतुर्भुजेन सहस्रबाहो भव विश्वमूर्ते ॥

kirīṭinaṃ gadinaṃ cakra-hastam

icchāmi tvāṃ draṣṭum ahaṃ tathaiva

tenaiva rūpeṇa catur-bhujena

sahasra-bāho bhava viśva-mūrte

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

meaning

Show me the form I have always known, crowned and holding your mace and discus, your four arms, not this thousand-armed immensity.

ekras · bhāṣya

Arjuna names the form he wants back. With that very chatur-bhuja form. Sahasra-baho, vishva-murte — be that. The disciple specifies precisely what he wants: the four-armed form he has always known.

Shankara reads the verse as the disciple's specific request for the four-armed Vasudeva form — kirita, gada, chakra-hasta, chatur-bhuja. The cosmic vishva-rupa was a one-time disclosure; what the disciple has lived with is the four-armed form, and that is the form he asks Krishna to resume.

Madhusudana reads with characteristic precision: the chatur-bhuja is the form fit for ongoing devotion. The cosmic form taught what it had to teach; the four-armed form is the dwelling-place of the bhakta's continuing relationship.

Ramanuja reads with characteristic warmth: Bhagavan's saumya form is the proper register for ongoing dhyana and seva; the bhakta requests the return as natural.

Madhva reads on the bheda-frame: the eternally distinct jiva can hold the chatur-bhuja form in continuous bhakti; the cosmic form was for vibhuti-disclosure.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: the prasada's gentle form is what the bhakta lives with.

Shridhara reads cleanly: crown, mace, chakra, four arms — please return to that.

Context

where

Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · meter triṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 11.45

I am thrilled to see what no eye has seen before, yet my mind shakes with fear. Show me that form of yours again, O Lord of gods, refuge of the world, and be gracious to me.

What's going on

Show me the form I have always known, crowned and holding your mace and discus, your four arms, not this thousand-armed immensity.

Sūtras through this verse (46)

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

11.1Now: experience what was taught.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→11.55Grace-soul acts only when the Lord wills.

show all 46

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurestation

───→here11.46───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalC

Vision is the structural centerbetween

11.8The eye is given, never earned by work.───→here11.46───→11.49Cosmic returns to gracious; ananya means non-dual.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

11.34Consciousness itself swallows the cosmos.───→here11.46───→12.5Every 'Me' from Krishna is Śiva-consciousness speaking.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalH

Bhakti as non-dual recognitionbetween

9.22Consciousness tending its own self-knowing modes.───→here11.46───→11.49Ananya bhakti is non-dual recognition.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerbetween

11.35By grace-nature, the secret discloses itself.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→12.1Sa-guṇa or nir-guṇa, which path wins?

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

9.27Whatever you do, do it as offering.───→here11.46───→11.55Five clauses, one shelter: mat-karma-kṛt.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

10.10I give the buddhi-yoga to those who love.───→here11.46───→11.54Undivided love beholds it.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

9.32Even the lowest birth reaches Me through this.───→here11.46───→11.55Five clauses for the one who is Mine.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

11.13Arjuna sees all at once.───→here11.46───→13.2The whole vibhūti clinches sāmānādhikaraṇya.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata similebetween

9.34Set toward Me, the seeker's whole posture.───→here11.46───→11.55He is the one telos.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalE

Field and field-knower as Parameśvaraapproach

───→here11.46───→13.1One knower in every field — Parameśvara.

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktaapproach

───→here11.46───→13.20Both natures cause the body's binding.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerexit

11.34Already slain — the question is finally retired.───→here11.46───→

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

9.22Yogakshema as offering returned───→here11.46───→11.55Five offering-clauses

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

9.22The undivided ones the Lord himself sustains.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→18.73Confusion gone, memory gained — the cure complete.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

11.16Aneka- is not just two-or-more.───→here11.46───→13.5Brahma-sūtra is text, not just utterance.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

11.16Many-armed is Viṣṇu, not a pantheon.───→here11.46───→12.1Beyond avyakta is puruṣa, and Viṣṇu.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

9.25Each worship reaches its own destination.───→here11.46───→11.55Five-clause sādhana names the apex.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

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

11.16Aṣṭādhyāyī 5.4.78 settles aneka-.───→here11.46───→15.1Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.4 settles aśvattha.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

11.16Aneka- means many; no upacāra needed.───→here11.46───→13.5Brahma-sūtra is text, not paraphrase.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markbetween

9.32The unsheltered take shelter and reach Me.───→here11.46───→11.54Undivided love — sādhana stripped, grace-clothed.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

9.32The unsheltered run to their cowherd-Lord.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→11.54Vision opens only to the love-stilled mind.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

9.32Even the unsheltered reach the highest goal.───→here11.46───→11.54Bhāgavata + Brahmasūtra fuse at the vision-verse.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

11.45The frame, not the catalogue, carries the doctrine.───→here11.46───→13.1Skipped — the next verse's prelude does the work.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

11.43Teacher, and teacher's teacher beyond compare.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→11.54By undivided love alone — knowable, seen.

ŚrīdharaclassicalH

The grammar of single-pointednessbetween

9.22The undivided are my one foundation.───→here11.46───→11.54Undivided love alone unlocks the world-form.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayexit

9.32Women, śūdras, all, also reach the goal.───→here11.46───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

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

9.34Mind on Me, devoted — you reach Me.───→here11.46───→11.54Bhakti without rival is the seeing-instrument.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

9.1Chapter 7's residue of wonder forces 9's disclosure.───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathbetween · v2

9.30Even the wrong-doer───→here11.46───→11.54Only by undivided bhakti

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterbetween

9.30Even a great wrongdoer, fixed on Me, is good.───→here11.46───→11.55Five clauses join into one shelter.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here11.46───→

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessapproach · other

───→here11.46───→12.13Friendly, compassionate

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

11.32Wrist, kalai. Kala, time. 'Kalo'smi loka-kshaya-krit pravriddhah.' Gaurav arrive───→here11.46───→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.───→here11.46───→11.55Acting for Me, holding Me supreme — that is the road.

Śabda · lemmas (19 unique · 20 occurrences)

रूपेण rūpa — form, shape, appearance; the visible aspect · instrumental neuter singular noun
इच्छामि iṣ — to wish, desire (verbal root) · present indicative 1st person singular verb
द्रष्टुम् dṛś — to see (verbal root) · infinitive · also at 11.3, 11.4, 11.7, 11.8, 11.54

show all 19

एव eva ×2 — indeed, truly, only (emphatic particle)
किरीटिनम् kirīṭin — diademed one (kirīṭa + -in); epithet of Arjuna · accusative masculine singular noun
गदिनम् gadin — mace-wielder (gadā + -in); epithet of Kṛṣṇa · accusative masculine singular noun
चक्र cakra — wheel, discus · compound
हस्तम् hasta — hand · accusative masculine singular noun
त्वाम् tvad — you (2nd person pronoun stem) · accusative singular noun
अहम् mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · nominative singular noun
तथा tathā — thus, in that manner; likewise
तेन tad — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · instrumental neuter singular noun
चतुर् catur — four · compound
भुजेन bhuja — arm; serpent · instrumental neuter singular noun
सहस्र sahasra — thousand · compound
बाहो bāhu — arm · vocative masculine singular noun
भव √bhū — to be, become; the earth (verbal root / noun) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb
विश्व viśva — all, the universe, every · compound
मूर्ते mūrti — form, embodiment, image · vocative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01When we have glimpsed something overwhelming — a person's full complexity, a system's true scale, a grief's real depth — why do we instinctively reach back for the manageable, recognisable face of it rather than sustaining the flood?
02Is Arjuna's request a failure of nerve or a shrewd recognition of the limits of his own adhikāra (qualification)? How do we distinguish legitimate scope-setting from avoidance?

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03All six schools agree the catur-bhuja form is not lesser — yet they differ sharply on why. What does the school you inhabit say about whether 'accessible' and 'ultimate' can coincide?
04The verse turns on the word 'icchāmi' (I desire, I ask). Desire in the Gītā is ordinarily problematic; here it is apparently legitimate. What makes a desire a legitimate petition rather than a rāga (attachment)?
05Arjuna identifies the form he wants by its instruments: crown (kiriṭa), mace (gadā), discus (cakra). Why these three? What do instruments and emblems tell us about identity — in Kṛṣṇa's case and in our own?
06Vallabha implies that only those within puṣṭi's direct śakti can hold the cosmic vision without fear. How do traditions that posit grace-prerequisites avoid becoming closed circles — and should they?
07The verse ends mid-sentence: Arjuna speaks to 'sahasra-bāho viśva-mūrte' even while asking for the viśva-rūpa to be withdrawn. What does it mean to address someone by a name they are about to stop being?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you are overwhelmed by the full complexity of a problem — a failing organisation, an illness, a broken relationship — notice that the mind's demand to 'return to the familiar form' is not cowardice but a recognition of operative scale. Work at the level your clarity can actually sustain; the undifferentiated whole will not vanish because you are not staring at it.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In deep work or love, there is a form of the other that makes service (kainkarya) possible — a face, a role, a specific relationship. Do not discard that form in pursuit of the abstract whole; the 'prior-established form' (pūrva-siddha rūpa) is the channel through which full engagement actually flows.

show all 6

Dvaita

Seeing the full power and sovereignty of someone you depend on — a mentor, a parent, a colleague at their best — can be awe-inspiring and destabilising. The healthy response is not to minimise what you saw but to return to the mode of relationship in which you can act: gratitude, specific service, honest acknowledgement of asymmetry.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's verse embedded in the commentary warns that those not grounded in a direct source of sustaining śakti (grace, tradition, community) will find fearless delight unavailable to them. Before you ask for the overwhelming vision, ensure you have the support structure — the 'puṣṭi' — to absorb what you see without shutting down.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's resolution: what you truly perceive of someone is not contradicted by the fact that they sometimes show you more. The crowns and emblems you've always known in a teacher, a beloved, a practice — these are not less real for having been momentarily eclipsed by their full dimensionality. Trust your continuous perception.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's synthesis: the 'four-armed form' you return to after an overwhelming encounter is not a lesser version of what you saw — it is the form your devotional sight has always held as substrate. The cosmic episode does not revise your relationship; it brackets within it. Come back to the practice, the person, the form that carries your continuity.

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 46: Krishna to Arjuna — Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga