Step 4 of 7 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.

  1. 1Tap a chapter, then a verse
  2. 2Read what it means
  3. 3Try the practice
700 verses37 detailed
Or browse by chapter
Chapter

Chapter 11 · The Universal Form · 55 verses

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455

Deep profile← → keys move between verses

Questions & crisisChapter 11 · The Universal Form
11.2811.30

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 11.29

Awe and terror at the universal form

यथा प्रदीप्‍तं ज्‍वलनं पतङ्गा

विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगा: ।

तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका-

स्तवापि वक्‍त्राणि समृद्धवेगा: ॥ २९ ॥

yathā pradīptaṁ jvalanaṁ pataṅgā

viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ

tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās

tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ

Translation

I see all people rushing full speed into Your mouths, as moths dash to destruction in a blazing fire.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Rushing Toward Destruction

  1. 1The speaker sees all people rushing full speed into Your mouths.
  2. 2They are compared to moths dashing into a blazing fire.
  3. 3This comparison shows them rushing toward destruction.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 11, The Universal Form: awe and terror at the universal form.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 11.29 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 11 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 11.20Awe and terror at the universal formBG 11.21Awe and terror at the universal formBG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 11.29 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.