Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Verse 12

Bhagavad Gita 11.12

Even the brightest familiar light cannot measure the cosmic form's radiance.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla. Commentary AI-drafted, human-reviewed. Reviewed June 2026. Methodology →

दिवि सूर्यसहस्रस्य भवेद्युगपदुत्थिता ।
यदि भाः सदृशी सा स्याद्भासस्तस्य महात्मनः ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
अगर आकाशमें एक साथ हजारों सूर्य उदित हो जायँ, तो भी उन सबका प्रकाश मिलकर उस महात्माविराट् रूप परमात्मा के प्रकाशके समान शायद ही हो ॥
English
If a thousand suns rose together in the sky, their light would still barely match that great being's radiance.

What this verse means

Arjuna says that even a thousand suns rising at once would not match the radiance of Krishna's cosmic form.

Context & commentary

On Kurukshetra, Arjuna is staring into Krishna's cosmic form after the battlefield has frozen into awe. He tries to describe the impossible: even a thousand suns would not equal that radiance. The next verse shows him seeing the whole universe inside that body.

Why this verse still matters

You stand in a dark room and suddenly the screen flashes open with a truth you cannot unsee. The mind reaches for comparison, but the experience already exceeds it.

The takeaway

Some encounters are so overwhelming that ordinary language and ordinary sight both fail.

Word-by-word translation

दिवि (in the sky) / सूर्यसहस्रस्य (of a thousand suns) / भवेत् (would be) / युगपत् (at once) / उत्थिता (risen) / यदि (if) / भाः (light) / सदृशी (equal) / सा (that) / स्यात् (would be) / भासः (radiance) / तस्य (of that) / महात्मनः (of the great being)

Explore related themes: vishwarupa (50 verses), cosmic form (25 verses)

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