Bg. 11.10-11 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

अनेकवक्‍त्रनयनमनेकाद्भ‍ुतदर्शनम् । अनेकदिव्याभरणं दिव्यानेकोद्यतायुधम् ॥ १० ॥ दिव्यमाल्याम्बरधरं दिव्यगन्धानुलेपनम् । सर्वाश्चर्यमयं देवमनन्तं विश्वतोमुखम् ॥ ११ ॥

Verse text

aneka-vaktra-nayanam anekādbhuta-darśanam aneka-divyābharaṇaṁ divyānekodyatāyudham divya-mālyāmbara-dharaṁ divya-gandhānulepanam sarvāścarya-mayaṁ devam anantaṁ viśvato-mukham

Synonyms

aneka — various ; vaktra — mouths ; nayanam — eyes ; aneka — various ; adbhuta — wonderful ; darśanam — sights ; aneka — many ; divya — divine ; ābharaṇam — ornaments ; divya — divine ; aneka — various ; udyata — uplifted ; āyudham — weapons ; divya — divine ; mālya — garlands ; ambara — dresses ; dharam — wearing ; divya — divine ; gandha — fragrances ; anulepanam — smeared with ; sarva — all ; āścarya-mayam — wonderful ; devam — shining ; anantam — unlimited ; viśvataḥ-mukham — all-pervading.

Translation

Arjuna saw in that universal form unlimited mouths, unlimited eyes, unlimited wonderful visions. The form was decorated with many celestial ornaments and bore many divine upraised weapons. He wore celestial garlands and garments, and many divine scents were smeared over His body. All was wondrous, brilliant, unlimited, all-expanding.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

10. It had many mouths and eyes, many astonishing aspects, many wonderful ornaments, uplifting many wonderful weapons. 11. That form wore astonishing garlands and dress, astonishing perfumes and ointments. It was shining, greatly amazing, infinite, with faces in every direction.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

10. It had many mouths and eyes, many astonishing aspects, many wonderful ornaments, uplifting many wonderful weapons. 11. That form wore astonishing garlands and dress, astonishing ointments and fragrances. It was shining, greatly amazing, beyond compare, with faces in every direction.

Purport

In these two verses the repeated use of the word many indicates that there was no limit to the number of hands, mouths, legs and other manifestations Arjuna was seeing. These manifestations were distributed throughout the universe, but by the grace of the Lord, Arjuna could see them while sitting in one place. That was due to the inconceivable potency of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Viśvato mukham means “whose faces are everywhere.”

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

That form had thousands (aneka) of mouths and eyes, since later there is a description of the form with thousands of arms: sahasra-bāho bhava viśva-mūrte (BG 11.46) The use of the word aneka here indicates that the arms and eyes were so numerous that they could not be counted (instead of just several, which is the other meaning of aneka.) This is understood from the śruti statement viśvataś cakṣur uta viśvatomukhaḥ: His eyes are everywhere, His faces are everywhere. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.3) In that form he saw many astonishing things (anekādbhuta darśanam). That form had celestial fragrances and ointments. It was shining (devam), unprecedented (anantam), and had faces in all directions (viśvato mukham).