BG 11.8 — Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 11.8Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा ।

दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षुः पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् ॥

na tu māṃ śakyase draṣṭum anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā

divyaṃ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ paśya me yogam aiśvaram

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

meaning

Your ordinary eyes cannot see what I am about to show you, so I give you a divine eye. Look now upon my sovereign power.

ekras · bhāṣya

You cannot see Me with your own eye. I give you a divya chakshu — see My aishvara yoga. Two clauses; the second is the operative grant. The ordinary eye cannot see what is being shown; Krishna gives the eye that can. Pashya me yogam aishvaram — see My sovereign yoga — is what the granted eye is for.

Shankara reads the verse as the structural precondition for the chapter's vision. The ordinary eye — sva-chakshus — is bounded by ordinary visibility; the divya chakshus is the means Krishna gives so that what is being shown can land. The vision does not happen because the disciple looks harder; it happens because the looker has been re-equipped.

Madhusudana reads divyam dadami te chakshuh as the central pivot of the chapter. Without this grant, no amount of teaching would suffice; with it, the rupa-darshana becomes possible.

Ramanuja reads with characteristic warmth: the disciple's request in 11.4 deferred to Krishna's judgment about capacity; Krishna now responds by giving the capacity itself. Yogam aishvaram is what the granted eye is being given to see.

Madhva reads on the bheda-frame: the eternally distinct jiva, by Hari's grant, can see what no jiva can see by its own power. The grant is svatantra; the seeing is paratantra.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: the prasada flows as the chakshu itself — the eye is the gift, the seeing is what the gift makes possible.

Shridhara reads cleanly: ordinary eye no, divya chakshu yes; see now Krishna's aishvara yoga.

Context

where

Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 11.7

Look here, Arjuna: the entire cosmos, moving and unmoving, gathered in one place within my body. Whatever else you wish to see, behold it now.

What's going on

Your ordinary eyes cannot see what I am about to show you, so I give you a divine eye. Look now upon my sovereign power.

Sūtras through this verse (46)

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerbetween

7.1Together they cover everything to be known.───→here11.8───→11.18Sat names the union of the two powers.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)between

11.1Arjuna confirms the bracket from inside.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→11.55Grace-soul acts only when the Lord wills.

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AbhinavaguptaclassicalC

Vision is the structural centerstation

───→here11.8───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerstation

───→here11.8───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

11.1Now: experience what was taught.───→here11.8───→11.55See the world as Śiva's own body.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

9.4He pervades, yet is not in any of it.───→here11.8───→11.46Cosmic and gracious one self-luminous.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

8.3Brahman, ātman, all facets of one Lord.───→here11.8───→11.34Consciousness itself swallows the cosmos.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalH

Bhakti as non-dual recognitionbetween

9.22Consciousness tending its own self-knowing modes.───→here11.8───→11.49Ananya bhakti is non-dual recognition.

RāmānujaclassicalC

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

11.1The aiśvarya-delusion now to be removed.───→here11.8───→12.1Sa-guṇa or nir-guṇa, which path wins?

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

9.27Whatever you do, do it as offering.───→here11.8───→11.55Five clauses, one shelter: mat-karma-kṛt.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

10.10I give the buddhi-yoga to those who love.───→here11.8───→11.54Undivided love beholds it.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

9.32Even the lowest birth reaches Me through this.───→here11.8───→11.55Five clauses for the one who is Mine.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

10.42One fragment props the world.───→here11.8───→11.13Arjuna sees all at once.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata similebetween

9.34Set toward Me, the seeker's whole posture.───→here11.8───→11.55He is the one telos.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalE

Field and field-knower as Parameśvaraapproach

───→here11.8───→13.1One knower in every field — Parameśvara.

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktaapproach

───→here11.8───→13.20Both natures cause the body's binding.

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

9.22Yogakshema as offering returned───→here11.8───→11.55Five offering-clauses

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

9.22The undivided ones the Lord himself sustains.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→18.73Confusion gone, memory gained — the cure complete.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

7.13Why this declaration? The gloss must answer.───→here11.8───→11.16Aneka- is not just two-or-more.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

8.4Adhiyajña clause: viṣṇur eva.───→here11.8───→11.16Many-armed is Viṣṇu, not a pantheon.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

9.25Each worship reaches its own destination.───→here11.8───→11.55Five-clause sādhana names the apex.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

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

7.5Parā-prakṛti backed by Pañcarātra.───→here11.8───→11.16Aṣṭādhyāyī 5.4.78 settles aneka-.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

7.5Surrounding clause picks literal Śrī.───→here11.8───→11.16Aneka- means many; no upacāra needed.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markbetween

9.32The unsheltered take shelter and reach Me.───→here11.8───→11.54Undivided love — sādhana stripped, grace-clothed.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

9.32The unsheltered run to their cowherd-Lord.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→11.54Vision opens only to the love-stilled mind.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

9.32Even the unsheltered reach the highest goal.───→here11.8───→11.54Bhāgavata + Brahmasūtra fuse at the vision-verse.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

1.31The despondency catalogue goes to Viṭṭhaleśa.───→here11.8───→11.21The cosmic-form catalogue is bracketed.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

11.1By high compassion He showed the world-form.───→here11.8───→11.43Teacher, and teacher's teacher beyond compare.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homebetween

9.34Mind on Me, bowed to Me — you reach Me.───→here11.8───→11.54By undivided love alone — knowable, seen.

ŚrīdharaclassicalH

The grammar of single-pointednessbetween

9.22The undivided are my one foundation.───→here11.8───→11.54Undivided love alone unlocks the world-form.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayexit

9.32Women, śūdras, all, also reach the goal.───→here11.8───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

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

9.34Mind on Me, devoted — you reach Me.───→here11.8───→11.54Bhakti without rival is the seeing-instrument.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

9.1Chapter 7's residue of wonder forces 9's disclosure.───→here11.8───→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.───→here11.8───→11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathbetween · v2

9.30Even the wrong-doer───→here11.8───→11.54Only by undivided bhakti

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterbetween

9.30Even a great wrongdoer, fixed on Me, is good.───→here11.8───→11.55Five clauses join into one shelter.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here11.8───→

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessapproach · other

───→here11.8───→12.13Friendly, compassionate

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

9.22Pinky finger. Shraddha, faith. Gaurav lands shraddha with the Sushma Swaraj six-───→here11.8───→11.32Wrist, kalai. Kala, time. 'Kalo'smi loka-kshaya-krit pravriddhah.' Gaurav arrive

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingbetween

10.42With one part I pervade this whole world, and stand.───→here11.8───→11.55Acting for Me, holding Me supreme — that is the road.

Śabda · lemmas (15 unique · 17 occurrences)

चक्षुषा·चक्षुः cakṣus ×2 — eye; sight · instrumental neuter singular noun / accusative neuter singular noun
शक्यसे √śak — to be able, can (verbal root) · present indicative pass 2nd person singular verb
ददामि dā — to give (verbal root) · present indicative 1st person singular verb · also at 10.10
पश्य paś — to see (verbal root, suppletive of √dṛś) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb
योगम् yoga — yoga; union, discipline, application · accusative masculine singular noun · also at 2.53, 3.7, 4.42, 6.12, 6.19, 7.1 +2
द्रष्टुम् dṛś — to see (verbal root) · infinitive · also at 11.3, 11.4, 11.7, 11.46, 11.54
अनेन idam — this (proximal demonstrative) · instrumental neuter singular noun
ऐश्वरम् aiśvara — divine, lordly (from īśvara) · accusative masculine singular noun

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माम्·मे mad ×2 — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · accusative singular noun / genitive singular noun
न na — not (negation particle)
तु tu — but, on the other hand (particle)
एव eva — indeed, truly, only (emphatic particle)
स्व sva — own, self · compound
दिव्यम् divya — divine, celestial, of the gods · accusative neuter singular noun
ते tvad — you (2nd person pronoun stem) · dative singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does Kṛṣṇa assert that the limitation is in Arjuna's faculty — the prākṛta cakṣus — rather than in any withholding on Kṛṣṇa's side? What does this say about the architecture of perception in the Gītā's epistemology?
02The divine eye (divya cakṣus) is granted unilaterally, without Arjuna requesting it. What does that structure of unsolicited grace imply about the relationship between yogic vision and earned spiritual achievement?

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03Five of the six schools gloss yogam aiśvaram as either ananta-vibhūti or aghaṭita-ghaṭanā-sāmarthya ('accomplishing the impossible'). Are these the same claim? What is at stake in each framing?
04Śaṅkara's reading treats the viśvarūpa as still a phenomenal event — even the divine eye does not pierce to niṣkala Brahman. If true, what is the viśvarūpa actually showing Arjuna?
05The verse sits between Arjuna's conditional request (11.4: 'if You think it possible') and the actual cosmic vision. What work does 11.8 do structurally — why is the granting of the divine eye narrated as a separate moment rather than simply occurring?
06Madhva's school holds that all jīva faculties are paratantra (dependent on Hari's will). Does the granting of the divine eye in 11.8 confirm or complicate that doctrine — is it extraordinary grace or merely the normal operation of paratantra?
07After the viśvarūpa is withdrawn (11.45–50), Arjuna reverts to ordinary sight. What does the temporary, revocable nature of the divine eye imply about the permanence of transformative vision?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you encounter a situation that seems opaque — a colleague's behavior, a family conflict, a system you cannot parse — notice that the limitation is structural: the prākṛta cakṣus, the habituated eye trained on surfaces, cannot see the underlying unity (ekatā). The practice is not to try harder with the same instrument but to ask: what is the jñāna-eye — the faculty of discernment (viveka) — already showing you that the surface-reading is missing?

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In every relationship, the person before you is sakala-itara-visajātīya — utterly unlike what your bounded, measuring mind projects onto them. The aprākṛta cakṣus granted by Bhagavān is the capacity for genuine attentiveness, kainkarya-listening: attending to what is actually present in the other (their ananta-vibhūti, their infinite qualification) rather than what the limited eye of past expectation can hold.

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Dvaita

You are a dependent being (paratantra jīva); every faculty you exercise — including the capacity to see clearly — is on loan from Hari. When clarity arrives in a decision, in a conversation, in understanding a situation that was previously dark, the Dvaita practice is to attribute it accurately: this was not my insight, it was Hari's disclosure. Gratitude (kṛtajñatā) directed toward the source of vision is itself a form of worship.

Śuddhādvaita

Kṛṣṇa's gift of the divine eye is prasāda — grace that precedes merit, that does not wait for you to become worthy. In daily life, the Puṣṭi-mārga analog is: stop trying to earn the insight. Sit with the limitation (prākṛta cakṣus acknowledged honestly), place yourself in the flow of His līlā, and receive what He chooses to show. The akṣara-aiśvarya-rūpa is not a reward; it is what you see when you stop blocking it.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's aghaṭita-ghaṭanā-sāmarthya — the power to accomplish the impossible — is not esoteric. It surfaces in everyday life as the moment when a situation that was knotted becomes simple, when a relationship that seemed broken finds a word that heals it, when a problem you could not solve resolves as if from outside. The Bhakti practice is to recognize these moments as yogam aiśvaram: not coincidence, not your cleverness, but Bhagavān's extraordinary practical sovereignty showing through.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana holds two registers simultaneously: the svabhāva-siddha eye is constitutively limited (Advaita diagnosis), yet Kṛṣṇa's grace is a specific, personal, devotional act (Bhakti response). In daily life, this synthesis means: hold your cognitive limitations honestly — know that your habituated perception is structurally limited — and stay open to the moments when Kṛṣṇa's asādhāraṇa yoga rearranges what you see. Neither self-reliance nor passive waiting: clear-eyed surrender.

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 8: Krishna to Arjuna — Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga