🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 11.36
Chapter 11 · विश्वरूपदर्शनयोग · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga · "The Yoga of the Universal-Form Vision" · Verse 36 of 55
🪷 English Translations
Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.
Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
11.36 Arjuna said: My Lord! It is natural that the world revels and rejoices when it sings the praises of Thy glory; the demons fly in fear and the saints offer Thee their salutations.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
11.36 Arjuna said It is meet, O Krishna, that the world delights and rejoices in Thy praise; demons fly in fear to all arters and the hosts of the perfected ones bow to Thee.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
11.36 Sthane, it is proper; -what is that?-that the jagat, world; prahrsyati, becomes delighted; tava prakirtya, by Your praise, by reciting Your greatness and hearing it. This is befitting. This is the idea. Or, the word sthane may be taken as alifying the word 'subject' (understood) : It is proper that the Lord is the subject of joy etc. since the Lord is the Self of all beings and the Friend of all.
So also it (the world) anurajyate, becomes attracted, becomes drawn (by that praise). That also is with regard to a proper subject. This is how it is to be explained.
Further, that the raksamsi, Raksasas; bhitani, stricken with fear; dravanti, run; disah, in all directions-that also is with regard to a proper subject. And that sarve, all; the siddha-sanghah, groups of the Siddhas-Kapila and others; namasyanti, bow down-that also is befitting.
He points out the reason for the Lord's being the object of delight etc.:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
11.36 Arjuna said: 'Sthane' means rightly or it is but proper. It is but proper that the whole world of gods, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Yaksas, Kinnaras, Kimpurusas, etc., who have foregathered with a desire to see the battle, should be delighted with You and love You after beholding You by Your grace.
You are the Lord of all. Rightly after beholding You, the Raksasas flee in fear on all sides, and rightly all the host of Siddhas, namely, the host of Siddhas who are favourable to You, pay their homage to You. The connection with what was said earlier is that all this is as it ought to be.
He further proceeds to explain how all this is right:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
11.36. Arjuna said O Lord of sense-organs (Krsna) ! It is appropriate that the universe rejoices and feels exceedingly delighted by the high glory of yours; that in fear the demons fly on all directions; and that the hosts of the perfected ones bow down [to You].
🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices
The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.
Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
11.36 स्थाने it is meet? हृषीकेश O Krishna? तव Thy? प्रकीर्त्या by praise? जगत् the world? प्रहृष्यति is delighted? अनुरज्यते rejoices? च and? रक्षांसि the demons? भीतानि in fear? दिशः to all arters? द्रवन्ति fly? सर्वे all? नमस्यन्ति bow (to Thee)? च and? सिद्धसङ्घाः the hosts of the perfected ones.Commentary Praise description of the glory of the Lord. The Lord is the object worthy of adortion? love and delight? because He is the Self and friend of all beings.The Lord is the object of adoration? love and delight for the following reason also. He is the primal cause even of Brahma? the Creator of the universe.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
11.36 Sthane, it is proper; -what is that?-that the jagat, world; prahrsyati, becomes delighted; tava prakirtya, by Your praise, by reciting Your greatness and hearing it. This is befitting. This is the idea. Or, the word sthane may be taken as alifying the word 'subject' (understood) : It is proper that the Lord is the subject of joy etc. since the Lord is the Self of all beings and the Friend of all.
So also it (the world) anurajyate, becomes attracted, becomes drawn (by that praise). That also is with regard to a proper subject. This is how it is to be explained.
Further, that the raksamsi, Raksasas; bhitani, stricken with fear; dravanti, run; disah, in all directions-that also is with regard to a proper subject. And that sarve, all; the siddha-sanghah, groups of the Siddhas-Kapila and others; namasyanti, bow down-that also is befitting.
He points out the reason for the Lord's being the object of delight etc.:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
11.36 Arjuna said: 'Sthane' means rightly or it is but proper. It is but proper that the whole world of gods, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Yaksas, Kinnaras, Kimpurusas, etc., who have foregathered with a desire to see the battle, should be delighted with You and love You after beholding You by Your grace.
You are the Lord of all. Rightly after beholding You, the Raksasas flee in fear on all sides, and rightly all the host of Siddhas, namely, the host of Siddhas who are favourable to You, pay their homage to You. The connection with what was said earlier is that all this is as it ought to be.
He further proceeds to explain how all this is right:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
11.36 Sthane etc. By high glory : by highly singing the glory.
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।11.36।। कविता के भावव्यंजय आकर्षण के द्वारा? एक बार पुन? हमें सम्पत्ति और वैभव से सम्पन्न सुखद राजप्रासाद से उठाकर युद्धभूमि के कोलाहल और आश्चर्यमय विराटरूप की ओर ले जाया जाता है। दृश्य यह है कि अर्जुन दोनों हाथ जोड़े हुए? भयकम्पित और विस्मय से अवरुद्ध कण्ठ से भगवान् की स्तुति कर रहा है। यह चित्र अर्जुन की मनस्थिति का स्पष्ट परिचायक है। ग्यारह श्लोकों के स्तुतिगान का यह खण्ड हिन्दू धर्म में उपलब्ध सर्वोत्तम प्रार्थनाओं का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है। वस्तुत सामान्य लोगों को यह विदित है कि संकल्पना? सुन्दरता? लय और अर्थ की गम्भीरता की दृष्टि से इससे अधिक श्रेष्ठ किसी सार्वभौमिक प्रार्थना की कल्पना नहीं की जा सकती है।इस खण्ड में? हम देखते हैं कि अर्जुन की तत्त्वदर्शन की क्षमता शनैशनै इस विराट रूप के पीछे दिव्य अनन्त सत्य को पहचान रही है। जब कोई व्यक्ति दर्पण में अपना प्रतिबिम्ब देख रहा होता है? तब सामान्यत उसे दर्पण की सतह का भान भी नहीं होता है? परन्तु यदि वह ध्यान उस सतह पर केन्द्रित करे तो उसके लिए वह प्रतिबिम्ब प्राय लुप्तसा ही हो जाता है। यहाँ भी? अर्जुन जब तक उस विश्वरूप के प्रत्येक रूप को ही देखने में व्यस्त रहा? तब तक इस विशाल रूप के सारतत्त्व अनन्त स्वरूप को वह नहीं पहचान सका। अब इस खण्ड से यह स्पष्ट होता है कि अर्जुन ने विराट रूप के वास्तविक सत्य और अर्थ को पहचानना प्रारम्भ कर दिया था।
🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā
- This is verse 36 of 55 in Chapter 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana-Yoga (The Yoga of the Universal-Form Vision)
- Chapter theme: Krishna reveals His universal-form · BG 11.5 paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi
- Ṣaṭka grouping: TAT-Ṣaṭka (BG 7-12 · the Lord)
- Chapter hub: /visvarupa-kala
🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷
सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)