Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 15
अर्जुन उवाच
पश्यामि देवांस्तव देव देहे
सर्वांस्तथा भूतविशेषसङ्घान्।
ब्रह्माणमीशं कमलासनस्थ
मृषींश्च सर्वानुरगांश्च दिव्यान्।।
पश्यामि देवांस्तव देव देहे
सर्वांस्तथा भूतविशेषसङ्घान्।
ब्रह्माणमीशं कमलासनस्थ
मृषींश्च सर्वानुरगांश्च दिव्यान्।।
arjuna uvāca
paśyāmi devāns tava deva dehe
sarvāns tathā bhūta-viśeṣa-saṅghān
brahmāṇam īśaṁ kamalāsana-stham
ṛṣīnś ca sarvān uragānś ca divyān
also searched as "pashyami devans tava deva dehe"
Translation
Arjuna said, "O Lord, I behold in Your body all the gods, and all the diverse hosts of beings—Brahma, Siva, who is in Brahma, the seers, and the lustrous snakes."
Vāṇi's rendering
I see all the gods in your body, every kind of being; Brahma on his lotus, the seers, the shining serpents.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अर्जुनarjuna | Arjuna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| पश्यामिpaśyāmi | I see |
| देवान्devāns | the gods (the closing s is sandhi before tava) |
| तवtava | your |
| देवdeva | O shining one |
| देहेdehe | in the body |
| सर्वान्sarvāns | all of them (sandhi s before tathā) |
| तथाtathā | and likewise |
| भूतविशेषसङ्घान्bhūta-viśeṣa-saṅghān | the crowds of every distinct kind of living thing |
| ब्रह्माणम्brahmāṇam | Brahma |
| ईशम्īśaṁ | the lord, the ruler |
| कमलासनस्थम्kamalāsana-stham | seated on the lotus seat |
| ऋषीन्ṛṣīnś | the seers (sandhi before ca) |
| चca | and |
| सर्वान्sarvān | all |
| उरगान्uragānś | the serpents (sandhi before ca) |
| चca | and |
| दिव्यान्divyān | shining, of the heavens |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 15 mean?
It is Arjuna's first speech after the vision opens. He sees the gods, every species of being, Brahma seated on his lotus, the ṛṣis, the luminous serpents — all inside one body. He is not explaining the vision. He is naming what he recognises in it, because naming is where a stunned mind begins.
What does pashyami devans tava deva dehe mean?
"I see the gods in your body, O shining one." Arjuna addresses Krishna as deva and then finds all devas within him. The many are not beside the one; they are inside it. Everything Arjuna had worshipped separately turns out to have one address.
Why does Arjuna list Brahma, the seers, and the serpents?
Because they are the furthest reaches of his known world — the creator above, the wise between, the nāgas below. He is drawing the widest circle he has words for, and the vision still overflows it. The list is his measuring stick, and it comes back too short.
What can I take from this verse in ordinary life?
That the mind meets immensity by cataloguing it. When something arrives too large — loss, love, a sudden truth — you will find yourself sorting it into pieces you already have names for. Let that happen. It is the first honest response. But notice the moment the names run out.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has been given the eye to see everything, and the first thing he does is start naming. Gods. Beings of every kind. Brahma on his lotus, the seers, the serpents. He is doing what any of us would do — reaching for familiar words, sorting the infinite into a list he already knows. It is not wrong. It is how a mind meets what exceeds it: by inventory, until the inventory breaks. Arjuna's counting will fail him soon enough. Watch yourself do the same with anything too large — a grief, a diagnosis, a love. You count the parts because you cannot yet hold the whole.