(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

All The Worlds, And Arjuna Himself Is Terrified In Awe Of Divine’s Glorious Body, With Its Many Mouths, Eyes, Arms, Thighs, Legs, Stomachs, And Dreadful Teeth

रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं
महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम् |
बहूदरं बहुदंष्ट्राकरालं
दृष्ट्वा लोका: प्रव्यथितास्तथाहम् || 11.23||

rūpaṁ mahat te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ
mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam
bahūdaraṁ bahu-danṣhṭrā-karālaṁ
dṛiṣhṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham|| 11.23||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 11- Ver. 23:

All beings, including myself, are concerned by your magnificent form with multiple mouths and eyes, O Mighty Armed, with several arms, thighs, feet, and belly, with terrible fangs.

Explanation

“The Supreme Entity has thousands of heads, thousands of eyes, and thousands of feet,” with his many hands, legs, faces, and stomachs. He encompasses the universe while remaining transcendental to it.
He lives in the lotus of the heart, roughly ten fingers above the navel in all humans.” Within the universal shape of the Lord are those who are beholding and those who are being beheld, the fearful and the terrifying.
The fire burns and the sun shines because of the fear of God. The wind blows and Indra makes the rain to fall because he is afraid of him. Even the god of death, Yamraj, trembles in his presence.

Verse & what we can learn

As Arjuna watched the alteration of Ishvara’s cosmic form, his awe turned to fear. The “soumya roopa,” or pleasant shape, transformed into the “ugra roopa,” or fearful form. Shri Krishna’s kind, gleaming face was vanished. It had transformed into a monster’s visage, complete with long, sharp teeth that were “kaarala,” or ready to bite.

We feel at ease when we observe someone with power who is also nice and caring. We are concerned, though, when someone in a position of power is blatantly set on doing havoc. As a result, when Arjuna saw this awful form of Ishvara, he noticed that all beings in all worlds retreated in horror of it.

Why did Ishvara show Arjuna this form? Isn’t it true that Shri Krishna only wanted people to remember him in his attractive form? This is for a good purpose. We already discussed our mind’s proclivity to categorise certain aspects of the universe as “good” or “bad.”

However, if we want to focus on Ishvara using the cosmic form, we must think like Ishvara. Ishvara encompasses the entirety of creation, where everything has a purpose and a place. We are unable to distinguish between what is good and what is terrible. Only by letting go of our preconceived notions of good and evil can we completely comprehend this dreadful manifestation of Ishvara.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

What else about Krishna’s form frightened him… In the next shloka, he continues.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…