Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 19
अनादिमध्यान्तमनन्तवीर्य
मनन्तबाहुं शशिसूर्यनेत्रम्।
पश्यामि त्वां दीप्तहुताशवक्त्रम्
स्वतेजसा विश्वमिदं तपन्तम्।।
मनन्तबाहुं शशिसूर्यनेत्रम्।
पश्यामि त्वां दीप्तहुताशवक्त्रम्
स्वतेजसा विश्वमिदं तपन्तम्।।
anādi-madhyāntam ananta-vīryam
ananta-bāhuṁ śaśi-sūrya-netram
paśyāmi tvāṁ dīpta-hutāśa-vaktram
sva-tejasā viśvam idaṁ tapantam
also searched as "anadi-madhyantam ananta-viryam"
Translation
I behold You as having no beginning, middle, or end; Your might is infinite. You are endowed with an innumerable number of arms. The sun and moon are Your eyes, and Your mouth emits burning fire. With Your own radiance, You are warning the entire universe.
Vāṇi's rendering
No beginning, middle, end; numberless arms; sun and moon for eyes; a mouth of fire, scorching this universe.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अनादिमध्यान्तम्anādi-madhya-antam | without beginning, middle, or end (madhya + antam joined by sandhi as madhyāntam) |
| अनन्तवीर्यम्ananta-vīryam | of endless power |
| अनन्तबाहुम्ananta-bāhum | with arms beyond number |
| शशिसूर्यनेत्रम्śaśi-sūrya-netram | having the moon and the sun as eyes |
| पश्यामिpaśyāmi | I see |
| त्वाम्tvām | you |
| दीप्तहुताशवक्त्रम्dīpta-hutāśa-vaktram | whose mouth is blazing sacrificial fire |
| स्वतेजसाsva-tejasā | by your own blaze |
| विश्वम्viśvam | the universe |
| इदम्idam | this |
| तपन्तम्tapantam | scorching, burning with heat |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 19 mean?
Arjuna reports what will not fit. Krishna's form has no beginning, middle or end, arms past counting, the sun and moon for eyes, a mouth of blazing fire that scorches everything. The verse is Arjuna's language buckling under what he sees, and choosing to keep speaking anyway.
What is the meaning of anadi-madhyantam ananta-viryam?
Anādi-madhya-antam means without beginning, middle or end — the three joints by which we normally hold anything in time. Ananta-vīryam means power without limit. Together they say: this cannot be placed on a timeline, and it cannot be measured. Arjuna names the failure of his own measuring.
Why is Krishna's mouth described as fire in this verse?
Dīpta-hutāśa-vaktram — a mouth of blazing hutāśa, the fire into which offerings are poured. Fire receives and fire consumes; both at once. Arjuna is seeing that what sustains the worlds also takes them back. The warmth and the burning are not two different powers.
How does this verse help someone who feels overwhelmed?
Arjuna does not pretend to understand, and he does not turn away. He says plainly that what stands before him exceeds him. There is a steadiness available in that honesty. When something in your life outruns your words, you are not required to shrink it before you can face it.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna is counting, and the counting fails. He begins with time — no beginning, no middle, no end — then tries the body: arms beyond number, the sun and moon set in as eyes, a mouth burning like the fire that receives offerings. Every measure he reaches for breaks in his hand. This is not description; it is the sound of a mind meeting something it cannot hold and saying so honestly. You have had smaller versions of this — the moment a grief or a love outran your words. Notice that Arjuna keeps looking. He does not close his eyes to make the seeing manageable.