TEXT 48
न वेदयज्ञाध्ययनैर्न दानैर्न न च क्रियाभिर्न तपोभिरुग्रैः ।
एवंरूपः शक्य अहं नृलोके द्रष्टुं त्वदन्येन कुरुप्रवीर ।। 48 ।।
na veda-yajñādhyayanair na dānair
na ca kriyābhir na tapobhir ugraiḥ
evaṁ-rūpaḥ śakya ahaṁ nṛ-loke
draṣṭuṁ tvad anyena kuru-pravīra
na – never; veda-yajña – by sacrifice; adhyayanaiḥ – or Vedic study; na – never; dānaiḥ – by charity; na – never; ca – also; kriyābhiḥ – by pious activities; na – never; tapobhiḥ – by serious penances; ugraiḥ – severe; evam-rūpaḥ – in this form; śakyaḥ – can; aham – I; nṛ-loke – in this material world; draṣṭum – be seen; tvat – than you; anyena – by another; kuru-pravīra – O best among the Kuru warriors.
O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charity, nor by pious activities, nor by severe penances can I be seen in this form in the material world.
The divine vision in this connection should be clearly understood. Who can have divine vision? Divine means godly. Unless one attains the status of divinity as a demigod, he cannot have divine vision. And what is a demigod? It is stated in the Vedic scriptures that those who are devotees of Lord Viṣṇu are demigods (viṣṇu-bhaktaḥ smṛto daivaḥ). Those who are atheistic, i.e., who do not believe in Viṣṇu, or who recognize only the impersonal part of Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme, cannot have the divine vision. It is not possible to decry Kṛṣṇa and at the same time have the divine vision. One cannot have the divine vision without becoming divine. In other words, those who have divine vision can also see like Arjuna.
The Bhagavad-gītā gives the description of the universal form. Although this description was unknown to everyone before Arjuna, now one can have some idea of the viśva-rūpa after this incident. Those who are actually divine can see the universal form of the Lord. But one cannot be divine without being a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The devotees, however, who are actually in the divine nature and who have divine vision, are not very much interested in seeing the universal form of the Lord. As described in the previous verse, Arjuna desired to see the four-handed form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as Viṣṇu, and he was actually afraid of the universal form.
In this verse there are some significant words, just like veda-yajñādhyayanaiḥ, which refers to studying Vedic literature and the subject matter of sacrificial regulations. Veda refers to all kinds of Vedic literature, such as the four Vedas (Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva) and the eighteen Purāṇas, the Upaniṣads and the Vedānta-sūtra. One can study these at home or anywhere else. Similarly, there are sūtras – Kalpa-sūtras and Mīmāṁsā-sūtras – for studying the method of sacrifice.
Dānaiḥ refers to charity which is offered to a suitable party, such as those who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord – the brāhmaṇas and the Vaiṣṇavas. Similarly, “pious activities” refers to the agni-hotra and the prescribed duties of the different castes. And the voluntary acceptance of some bodily pains is called tapasya. So one can perform all these – can accept bodily penances, give charity, study the Vedas, etc. – but unless he is a devotee like Arjuna, it is not possible to see that universal form. Those who are impersonalists are also imagining that they are seeing the universal form of the Lord, but from Bhagavad-gītā we understand that the impersonalists are not devotees. Therefore they are unable to see the universal form of the Lord.
There are many persons who create incarnations. They falsely claim an ordinary human to be an incarnation, but this is all foolishness. We should follow the principles of Bhagavad-gītā, otherwise there is no possibility of attaining perfect spiritual knowledge. Although Bhagavad-gītā is considered the preliminary study of the science of God, still it is so perfect that it enables one to distinguish what is what. The followers of a pseudo incarnation may say that they have also seen the transcendental incarnation of God, the universal form, but that is unacceptable because it is clearly stated here that unless one becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa one cannot see the universal form of God. So one first of all has to become a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa; then he can claim that he can show the universal form of what he has seen. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa cannot accept false incarnations or followers of false incarnations.
TEXT 49
मा ते व्यथा मा च विमूढभावो दृष्ट्वा रूपं घोरमीदृङ्ममेदम् ।
व्यपेतभीः प्रीतमनाः पुनस्त्वं तदेव मे रूपमिदं प्रपश्य ।। 49 ।।
mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍha-bhāvo
dṛṣṭvā rūpaṁ ghoram īdṛṅ mamedam
vyapeta-bhīḥ prīta-manāḥ punas tvaṁ
tad eva me rūpam idaṁ prapaśya
mā – let it not be; te – unto you; vyathā – trouble; mā – let it not be; ca – also; vimūḍha-bhāvaḥ – bewilderment; dṛṣṭvā – by seeing; rūpam – form; ghoram – horrible; īdṛk – as it is; mama – My; idam – this; vyapeta-bhīḥ – free from all fear; prīta-manāḥ – pleased in mind; punaḥ – again; tvam – you; tat – that; eva – thus; me – My; rūpam – form; idam – this; prapaśya – just see.
You have been perturbed and bewildered by seeing this horrible feature of Mine. Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free again from all disturbances. With a peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.
In the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna was worried about killing Bhīṣma and Droṇa, his worshipful grandfather and master. But Kṛṣṇa said that he need not be afraid of killing his grandfather. When the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra tried to disrobe Draupadī in the assembly of the Kurus, Bhīṣma and Droṇa were silent, and for such negligence of duty they should be killed. Kṛṣṇa showed His universal form to Arjuna just to show him that these people were already killed for their unlawful action.
That scene was shown to Arjuna because devotees are always peaceful and they cannot perform such horrible actions. The purpose of the revelation of the universal form was shown; now Arjuna wanted to see the four-armed form, and Kṛṣṇa showed him. A devotee is not much interested in the universal form, for it does not enable one to reciprocate loving feelings. Either a devotee wants to offer his respectful worshipful feelings, or he wants to see the two-handed Kṛṣṇa form so that he can reciprocate in loving service with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 50
संजय उवाच
इत्यर्जुनं वासुदेवस्तथोक्त्वा स्वकं रूपं दर्शयामास भूयः ।
आश्वासयामास च भीतमेनं भूत्वा पुनः सौम्यवपुर्महात्मा ।। 50 ।।
sañjaya uvāca
ity arjunaṁ vāsudevas tathoktvā
svakaṁ rūpaṁ darśayām āsa bhūyaḥ
āśvāsayām āsa ca bhītam enaṁ
bhūtvā punaḥ saumya-vapur mahātmā
sañjayaḥ uvāca – Sañjaya said; iti – thus; arjunam – unto Arjuna; vāsudevaḥ – Kṛṣṇa; tathā – in that way; uktvā – speaking; svakam – His own; rūpam – form; darśayām āsa – showed; bhūyaḥ – again; āśvāsayām āsa – encouraged; ca – also; bhītam – fearful; enam – him; bhūtvā – becoming; punaḥ – again; saumya-vapuḥ – the beautiful form; mahā-ātmā – the great one.
Sañjaya said to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, having spoken thus to Arjuna, displayed His real four-armed form and at last showed His two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna.
When Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Vasudeva and Devakī, He first of all appeared as four-armed Nārāyaṇa, but when He was requested by His parents, He transformed Himself into an ordinary child in appearance. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa knew that Arjuna was not interested in seeing a four-handed form, but since Arjuna asked to see this four-handed form, Kṛṣṇa also showed him this form again and then showed Himself in His two-handed form. The word saumya-vapuḥ is very significant. Saumya-vapuḥ is a very beautiful form; it is known as the most beautiful form. When He was present, everyone was attracted simply by Kṛṣṇa’s form, and because Kṛṣṇa is the director of the universe, He just banished the fear of Arjuna, His devotee, and showed him again His beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38) it is stated, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena: only a person whose eyes are smeared with the ointment of love can see the beautiful form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 51
अर्जुन उवाच
दृष्टे्वदं मानुषं रूपं तव सौम्यं जनार्दन ।
इदानीमस्मि संवृत्तः सचेताः प्रकृतिं गतः ।। 51 ।।
arjuna uvāca
dṛṣṭvedaṁ mānuṣaṁ rūpaṁ
tava saumyaṁ janārdana
idānīm asmi saṁvṛttaḥ
sa-cetāḥ prakṛtiṁ gataḥ
arjunaḥ uvāca – Arjuna said; dṛṣṭvā – seeing; idam – this; mānuṣam – human; rūpam – form; tava – Your; saumyam – very beautiful; janārdana – O chastiser of the enemies; idānīm – now; asmi – I am; saṁvṛttaḥ – settled; sa-cetāḥ – in my consciousness; prakṛtim – to my own nature; gataḥ – returned.
When Arjuna thus saw Kṛṣṇa in His original form, he said: O Janārdana, seeing this humanlike form, so very beautiful, I am now composed in mind, and I am restored to my original nature.
Here the words mānuṣaṁ rūpam clearly indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be originally two-handed. Those who deride Kṛṣṇa as if He were an ordinary person are shown here to be ignorant
