In the Bhagavad-gita’s eleventh chapter, Arjuna beholds the universal form. What he speaks while beholding that cosmic theophany (11.15-31) gives us a sense of his perceptions and concomitant emotions. 

Initially, Arjuna observes and marvels at the all-pervasiveness of the universal form, while noting that it is so effulgent as to be difficult to observe. As the majestic sight fills him with awe, suddenly his emotion changes to fear (11.25). Then, the fear becomes so overwhelming that he begs to know what he is seeing (11.31). After offering some prayers, he begs that the vision be stopped (11.46). 

To better understand what causes Arjuna’s emotional turbulence, consider a metaphor. Suppose we are watching a science-fiction movie in our home theater with some acquaintances. In the movie, a gigantic being suddenly appears and spreads across the entire screen. While we are watching, that being starts emanating fire from its mouth and scorching everything around it. Then, it starts drawing things nearby into its fiery mouth. As we are watching, that being suddenly appears in the very place we are in and starts devouring the people around us. Shocked, we try to stop the movie, but the remote doesn’t work. We would be terrified, even petrified. 

Arjuna’s perceptions and reactions are similar. What Arjuna sees initially as the majestic universal form soon starts devouring the warriors assembled on the very Kurukshetra battlefield where Arjuna is. This is Krishna’s cosmically destructive form of time, kala-rupa. That the kala-rupa perturbs a valiant warrior of Arjuna’s caliber underscores its unbearable scariness. This vision reveals the all-round nature of God’s omnipotence: no one can inspire devotion like him (in his form as Krishna) and no one can induce fear like him (in his form as time). 

One-sentence summary:

For Arjuna, the sight of the majestic universal form is thrilling, but the sight of the destructive kala-rupa is chilling. 

Think it over:

  • When beholding the universal form, what sight fills Arjuna with awe?
  • When beholding the universal form, what sight fills Arjuna with fear?
  • How does the universal form underscore God’s all-round omnipotence?

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11.25: O Lord of lords, O refuge of the worlds, please be gracious to me. I cannot keep my balance seeing thus Your blazing deathlike faces and awful teeth. In all directions I am bewildered.

To know more about this verse, please click on the image