The Cosmic Form

Beat 1

On the field of Kurukṣetra, between the two armies, Kṛṣṇa has been teaching Arjuna. Now Arjuna asks for more than words.

Arjuna: I wish to see your sovereign divine form.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.1–4 · gita/11.3

Beat 2

No human eye can see it. So Kṛṣṇa gives Arjuna divine sight.

Kṛṣṇa: I give you divine sight; behold my sovereign yoga.

Divya cakṣus. "Divine eye": the sight Kṛṣṇa grants Arjuna for this vision. Sañjaya, telling the story to the blind king, has been given a similar sight by Vyāsa.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.8 · gita/11.8

Beat 3

If the light of a thousand suns rose at once in the sky, it might match the splendour of that great being.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.12 · gita/11.12

Beat 4

In that one body Arjuna sees the whole universe, divided in many ways and gathered in one place: gods, sages, beings of every kind, without beginning, middle or end.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.13–17 · gita/11.13

Beat 5

Then the vision turns terrible. The warriors of both armies rush into its blazing mouths. Shaken, Arjuna asks who this is.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.26–31

Beat 6

The answer is one of the most quoted lines of the Gītā: "I am Time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds." Arjuna is only the instrument.

Kāla. Time. The word also means death and the right moment; here it is Kṛṣṇa's name for himself as the force that ends all things.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.32–33 · gita/11.32

Beat 7

Arjuna bows, trembling. He begs forgiveness for every time he called Kṛṣṇa simply "friend", and asks to see the familiar form again.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.35–46 · gita/11.45

Beat 8

Kṛṣṇa takes his gentle human form once more and comforts his frightened friend. The charioteer is back on the chariot.

From the scripture · Bhagavad Gītā 11.50–51 · gita/11.50