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
11.2911.31

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 11.30

Awe and terror at the universal form

लेलिह्यसे ग्रसमान: समन्ता-

ल्ल‍ोकान्समग्रान्वदनैज्‍‍र्वलद्भ‍िः ।

तेजोभिरापूर्य जगत्समग्रं

भासस्तवोग्रा: प्रतपन्ति विष्णो ॥ ३० ॥

lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāl

lokān samagrān vadanair jvaladbhiḥ

tejobhir āpūrya jagat samagraṁ

bhāsas tavogrāḥ pratapanti viṣṇo

Translation

O Viṣṇu, I see You devouring all people from all sides with Your flaming mouths. Covering all the universe with Your effulgence, You are manifest with terrible, scorching rays.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

Viṣṇu’s Blazing Form

  1. 1Viṣṇu is seen devouring all people from all sides with His flaming mouths.
  2. 2His radiance covers the entire universe.
  3. 3His rays are terrible and scorching.

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 11.30 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 11.30 — 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.