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Chapter 11 · The Universal Form · 55 verses

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Questions & crisisChapter 11 · The Universal Form
11.211.4

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 11.3

Arjuna requests the universal form

एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर ।

द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम ॥ ३ ॥

evam etad yathāttha tvam

ātmānaṁ parameśvara

draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam

aiśvaraṁ puruṣottama

Translation

O greatest of all personalities, O supreme form, though I see You here before me in Your actual position, as You have described Yourself, I wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

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

Seeing Kṛṣṇa’s Universal Form

  1. 1Arjuna accepts Kṛṣṇa’s supreme position and asks to see how He has entered the universe.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that Arjuna is fully satisfied with Kṛṣṇa’s personal form. He requests the universal form to convince others, not himself.
  3. 3Be careful of false claims: anyone claiming to be Kṛṣṇa should be able to show His universal form.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 11, The Universal Form: arjuna requests the universal form.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 11.3 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.

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The story behind it

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

All stories for chapter 11 ›
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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 11.1Arjuna requests the universal formBG 11.2Arjuna requests 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 11.3 — 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.