Bhagavad Gita — Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga, Shloka 53
Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga
नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया । शक्य एवंविधो द्रष्टुं दृष्टवानसि मां यथा ॥ ११.५३ ॥
nāhaṁ vedair na tapasā na dānena na cejyayā | śakya evaṁvidho draṣṭuṁ dṛṣṭavān asi māṁ yathā || 11.53 ||
বেদ দ্বারা নয়, তপস্যা দ্বারা নয়, দান দ্বারা নয়, যজ্ঞ দ্বারা নয়—তুমি যেমন আমাকে দেখেছ, তেমন এই রূপে আমাকে দেখা সম্ভব নয়।
Not by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by charity, nor by sacrifice can I be seen in this form as you have seen Me.
Not by the Vedas, nor by ascetic heat, nor by giving, nor by worship-sacrifice can I be seen in such a manner as you have seen me.
Compared with 11.48, the list is compressed and more categorical; ‘ijyā’ can be rendered ‘sacrificial worship’ or ‘ritual adoration,’ with little change to the overall thrust.
FAQs
The verse discourages a purely transactional spirituality (effort → guaranteed result), supporting a more relational and transformative model.
It implies that ultimate disclosure is not reducible to textual authority or ritual performance; it involves a direct encounter that exceeds ordinary epistemic routes.
It sets up the explicit conclusion in 11.54: exclusive devotion is the means to truly know, see, and ‘enter’ the divine reality.
It can be applied as a caution against substituting credentials or external observances for genuine ethical and contemplative transformation.