Bhagavagd Gita - Session 34- Track 3411

Now, Sri Krishna lays down the conditions under which this supreme form can be seen. From the point of view of Yoga this particular verse is extremely important.

na vedayajñādhyayanair na dānair na ca kriyābhir na tapobhir ugraiḥ |
evaṁrūpaḥ śakya ahaṁ nṛloke draṣṭuṁ tvad anyena kurupravīra ||48||(XI)

“This particular form cannot be seen even by tapobhir ugraiḥ, even if you do hundreds and thousands of austerities, fierce austerities; na ca kriyābhir, even if you do marvellous works; na dānair, you give so much in donations, you may study Veda, vedayajñā, you may do lots of sacrifices, none of them will give you this rūpa that you have seen.”

mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍhabhāvo dṛṣṭvā rūpaṁ ghoram īdṛṅ mamedam |

“Do not worry, mā te vyathā, do not be bewildered, do not have pain, suffering; mā ca vimūḍhabhāvo, do not become completely distracted, vimūḍhabhāvo; dṛṣṭvā rūpaṁ ghoram, this terrible face that you have seen, having seen it, do not be afraid and do not feel distracted.

vyapetabhīḥ prītamanāḥ punas tvaṁ tad eva me rūpam idaṁ prapaśya ||49||

“Since you are so much afraid, punas tvaṁ, I am showing you again; tad eva me rūpam idaṁ, I am showing you now that form, prapaśya, now see it.

From the point of Yoga as I have said, this verse is very important because it will show by what means: neither by Yoga or Karma, nor by donations, nor by any kind of Karma Yoga, nor even by any Bhakti Yoga you can have that vision. You can have that vision only if you combine Bhakti with Jnana and Karma altogether, only when you have done integral Yoga, gone beyond all exclusive paths of Yoga, then only this vision is possible: this is the secret teaching of this verse.

We shall comeback to it again.

sañjaya uvāca, now Sanjaya says:

ity arjunaṁ vāsudevas tathoktvā svakaṁ rūpaṁ darśayām āsa bhūyaḥ |

“Having said like this to Arjuna, Vasudeva, Sri Krishna, darśayām āsa, He reveals, He showed bhūyaḥ, again, svakaṁ rūpaṁ, His own original form, narayana rūpa, with four hands; āśvāsayām āsa ca bhītam enaṁ, He comforted the one who had become so much terrified, bhūtvā punaḥ saumyavapur mahātmā ||50|| (XI), having assumed His saumya-bhāva, His tranquil and delightful and sweet and smiling face, by showing that He comforted this terrified heart of Arjuna.”

Then Arjuna says:

dṛṣṭvedaṁ mānuṣaṁ rūpaṁ tava saumyaṁ janārdana |

“You are very near to us, mānuṣaṁ rūpaṁ, this human form that You have shown; idānīm asmi saṁvṛttaḥ sacetāḥ prakṛtiṁ gataḥ ||51||, now I have come back again composed, asmi saṁvṛttaḥ sacetāḥ prakṛtiṁ, my Prakriti has now become awake by this vision of Yours.”

śribhagavān uvāca

sudurdarśam idaṁ rūpaṁ dṛṣṭavān asi yan mama |
devā apy asya rūpasya nityaṁ darśanakāṅkṣiṇaḥ ||52|| (XI)

Sri Krishna repeats again that that form which you had seen earlier, which is now disappearing before you, now the new form is coming before you, that that form which has been shown to you…sudurdarśam idaṁ, is hardly visible to anybody… devā apy asya rūpasya nityaṁ darśanakāṅkṣiṇaḥ, even Devas, even Gods are nityaṁ kāṅkṣiṇaḥ, they are all the time desirous of having that darśana.”

nāhaṁ vedair na tapasā na dānena na cejyayā |
śakya evaṁvidho draṣṭuṁ dṛṣṭavān asi māṁ yathā ||53||(XI)

Once again He repeats: “Neither by Karmayoga, nor by Jnanayoga, nor by Bhaktiyoga, neither by study, nāhaṁ vedair na tapasā na dānena na cejyayā, not even by devotion, śakya evaṁvidho draṣṭuṁ, you cannot see Me, even when you do all this, what you have already seen.”