Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 17
किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रिणं च
तेजोराशिं सर्वतोदीप्तिमन्तम्।
पश्यामि त्वां दुर्निरीक्ष्यं समन्ता
द्दीप्तानलार्कद्युतिमप्रमेयम्।।
तेजोराशिं सर्वतोदीप्तिमन्तम्।
पश्यामि त्वां दुर्निरीक्ष्यं समन्ता
द्दीप्तानलार्कद्युतिमप्रमेयम्।।
kirīṭinaṁ gadinaṁ cakriṇaṁ ca
tejo-rāśiṁ sarvato dīptimantam
paśyāmi tvāṁ durnirīkṣyaṁ samantād
dīptānalārka-dyutim aprameyam
also searched as "kiritinam gadinam chakrinam cha"
Translation
I behold You as a mass of light, shining everywhere, with a diadem, mace, and discus, hard to behold, blazing like a burning fire and the sun, and immeasurable.
Vāṇi's rendering
Crowned, with mace and discus, a mass of light blazing everywhere — hard even to look at, measureless as sun-fire.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| किरीटिनम्kirīṭinaṁ | wearing the crown |
| गदिनम्gadinaṁ | holding the mace |
| चक्रिणम्cakriṇaṁ | holding the discus |
| चca | and |
| तेजोराशिम्tejo-rāśiṁ | a heaped mass of light |
| सर्वतःsarvato | on every side (sarvataḥ, the s softened before d) |
| दीप्तिमन्तम्dīptimantam | radiant, full of blaze |
| पश्यामिpaśyāmi | I see |
| त्वाम्tvāṁ | you |
| दुर्निरीक्ष्यम्durnirīkṣyaṁ | hard to look at |
| समन्तात्samantād | from all around (samantāt, joined to the next word) |
| दीप्तानलार्कद्युतिम्dīptānalārka-dyutim | with the glare of blazing fire and sun (dīpta + anala + arka + dyuti) |
| अप्रमेयम्aprameyam | not to be measured |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 17 mean?
Arjuna sees Krishna's crown, mace and discus still present within a blaze that covers every direction. The familiar signs remain; the light around them has become unbearable. He calls it durnirīkṣya — hard to look at — and aprameya, beyond measuring. Recognition and overwhelm arrive in the same glance.
What is the meaning of kiritinam gadinam chakrinam cha?
Crowned, mace-bearing, discus-bearing — the three marks by which Arjuna has always known his friend. He reaches for them first because they are the only handholds left. Even in a form that fills the sky, something recognisable stays. The vast does not erase the intimate.
Why does Arjuna say the form is hard to look at?
Because sight has a limit and this exceeds it. Krishna is not concealing anything; Arjuna's eyes simply cannot take in what is offered. Durnirīkṣya names an honest condition, not a rebuke. Whatever is truly larger than you will first be felt as strain, not comfort.
What does aprameyam mean in this verse?
Not measurable. No edge to reach, no scale to lay against it. Arjuna has been counting arms and mouths and directions, and here the counting stops. When you meet something you cannot measure, the mind's usual work ends — and only looking remains.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna still names what he can. Crown, mace, discus — the same ornaments the friend beside him wore an hour ago, still recognizable inside the fire. That is the mercy hidden here: the form he loves has not vanished, it has only grown too bright to hold in the eye. Notice the word durnirīkṣya — hard to look at. Not hidden. Not far. Simply more than sight can take. What you have asked to see, you may not be able to bear seeing; and the failure will be in your eyes, not in the vision. Look anyway, and keep naming what you can.