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 ||
ವೇದಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ತಪಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ದಾನದಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಯಜ್ಞದಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ—ನೀನು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಕಂಡೆಯೋ, ಆ ರೀತಿಯ ಈ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕಾಣುವುದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಲ್ಲ.
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.
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