Bhagavad Gita — Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga, Shloka 10

Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga

Devanagari script

अनेकवक्त्रनयनमनेकाद्भुतदर्शनम् । अनेकदिव्याभरणं दिव्यानेकोद्यतायुधम् ॥ ११.१० ॥

Transliteration

anekavaktra-nayanam anekādbhuta-darśanam | aneka-divyābharaṇaṃ divyānekodyatāyudham || 11.10 ||

Translation

（彼形）具无数口与眼，呈现无数奇妙景象；佩无数天界饰物，执无数高举的天界兵器。

Gita Press Meaning

उस (रूप) में अनेक मुख और नेत्र थे, अनेक अद्भुत दर्शन थे, अनेक दिव्य आभूषण थे तथा अनेक दिव्य, उठाए हुए आयुध थे।

Critical Edition Meaning

It had many faces and eyes, many wondrous appearances; many divine ornaments; and many divine weapons held aloft.

Comparative Note

The imagery is hyperbolic and iconic, typical of epic theophany. “आयुध” can be read historically as royal insignia of power; in non-literal readings it can symbolize capacities (forces) through which cosmic order is maintained.

Word by Word

• अनेक: many
• Root: अनेक

• वक्त्र: mouth; face
• Root: वक्त्र

• नयनम्: (having) eyes (i.e., a form with many faces and eyes)
• Root: नयन

• अनेक: many
• Root: अनेक

• अद्भुत: marvelous; wondrous
• Root: अद्भुत

• दर्शनम्: appearance; vision; sight (i.e., having many wondrous appearances)
• Root: दर्शन

• अनेक: many
• Root: अनेक

• दिव्य: divine; celestial
• Root: दिव्य

• आभरणम्: ornament; adornment (i.e., having many divine ornaments)
• Root: आभरण

• दिव्य: divine; celestial
• Root: दिव्य

• अनेक: many
• Root: अनेक

• उद्यत: raised; uplifted; brandished
• Root: उद्यत

• आयुधम्: weapon (i.e., having many divine weapons held aloft)
• Root: आयुध

Speakers

• Sanjaya

Primary Concepts

• Anekatva (multiplicity)
• Aiśvarya (sovereign splendor)
• Symbolic embodiment of cosmic functions

Key Themes

• Awe and sublimity
• Iconic language
• Cosmic sovereignty

FAQs

Psychological significance?

The many-faced imagery can represent the mind’s encounter with overwhelming complexity—an experience of awe where ordinary categories struggle to contain what is perceived.

Metaphysical meaning?

Multiplicity of eyes and faces suggests omnipresence and omniscience in symbolic form: the cosmos is presented as pervaded by a single, comprehensive principle.

Contextual relevance?

This verse begins the detailed visual catalog of the universal form, building intensity and scale for Arjuna’s subsequent response.

Modern Application?

It can be used as a metaphor for recognizing many perspectives at once—useful in ethics, leadership, and conflict-resolution without reducing reality to a single viewpoint.