Gita 11.23
Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga
रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम् । बहूदरं बहुदंष्ट्राकरालं दृष्ट्वा लोकाः प्रव्यथितास्तथाहम् ॥
rūpaṁ mahat te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam | bahūdaraṁ bahu-daṁṣṭrā-karālaṁ dṛṣṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham ||
In essence: Infinity takes form as countless mouths, eyes, arms, and terrible fangs - and all worlds tremble before it, including Arjuna himself.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Why is Arjuna suddenly terrified? Just a moment ago he was seeing the same form with wonder."
Guru: "Have you ever started a journey with excitement only to realize midway that you had underestimated where it leads?"
Sadhak: "Yes, that shift from adventure to alarm when reality sets in."
Guru: "Arjuna asked to see everything. Now he is seeing everything - including aspects he didn't anticipate. The fangs."
Sadhak: "Why does the divine form need fangs at all?"
Guru: "What does creation do to what existed before it?"
Sadhak: "It... replaces it? Consumes the old to make the new?"
Guru: "Exactly. The cosmic form includes the devouring principle. Those fangs are not decoration - they are function. Everything that exists will eventually be consumed back into its source. Arjuna is seeing that function directly."
Sadhak: "And the worlds tremble because they know they will be consumed?"
Guru: "The worlds are conscious. Every realm of existence, from physical to celestial, carries intuitive knowledge of its own impermanence. Usually this knowledge stays suppressed. Now, faced with the cosmic form, that knowledge becomes viscerally present."
Sadhak: "So Arjuna's trembling is actually the world's trembling through him?"
Guru: "He says it directly: 'tathāham' - likewise I. He is not separate from the worlds. His terror is their terror made personal."
Did this resonate with you? Share it with someone who needs to hear this.
🌅 Daily Practice
Scale meditation: Before starting your day, briefly contemplate the true scale of existence - billions of galaxies, trillions of beings, time extending billions of years in both directions. Let yourself feel appropriately small. Notice any trembling response in the body. This is healthy perspective. Then proceed with your day's tasks, now properly sized.
Fang awareness: When you encounter the destructive aspect of existence today - decay, endings, loss, death of projects or relationships - recognize the 'daṁṣṭrā-karālam' aspect of cosmic function. Instead of resisting, acknowledge: this too is divine function. The same force that creates must also dissolve.
Trembling release: Before sleep, allow your body to actually tremble slightly - not from cold but from conscious release. Shake out accumulated tension. As you do, acknowledge that trembling before mystery is appropriate. Then let the trembling settle into stillness. Fall asleep having honored both the terror and the peace.