A declaration · expansive in mood · a little context helps
“The divine cannot be contained in one shape.”
The Blessed Lord said: See, Partha, my forms in hundreds and thousands, diverse, divine, and of many colors and shapes.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallythe Blessed Lord said · see · my · Partha · forms · in hundreds · and · in thousands · of many kinds · divine · of many colors and shapes · and
Krishna tells Arjuna to look at his countless divine forms, each with different colors and shapes.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga" (The Universal Form).
Verse 5 sits in Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita — Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga, "The Universal Form". The chapter has 55 verses in total.
You think you know someone by one role, one mood, one label. Then a crisis opens and you see how many forms a single life can hold.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from fixed identity to vast, living presence.
What this verse means
Krishna tells Arjuna to look at his countless divine forms, each with different colors and shapes.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna has asked to see Krishna's cosmic form. Krishna begins to reveal it by inviting him to look at countless divine forms, each unlike the other. The teaching is preparing Arjuna for awe.
Why this verse still matters
You think you know someone by one role, one mood, one label. Then a crisis opens and you see how many forms a single life can hold.
“The divine is not narrow or single-faced. Reality is far larger than one fixed image.”
Explore related themes: vishwarupa (50 verses)