Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 22
रुद्रादित्या वसवो ये च साध्या
विश्वेऽश्विनौ मरुतश्चोष्मपाश्च।
गन्धर्वयक्षासुरसिद्धसङ्घा
वीक्षन्ते त्वां विस्मिताश्चैव सर्वे।।
विश्वेऽश्विनौ मरुतश्चोष्मपाश्च।
गन्धर्वयक्षासुरसिद्धसङ्घा
वीक्षन्ते त्वां विस्मिताश्चैव सर्वे।।
rudrādityā vasavo ye ca sādhyā
viśve ’śvinau marutaś coṣmapāś ca
gandharva-yakṣāsura-siddha-saṅghā
vīkṣante tvāṁ vismitāś caiva sarve
also searched as "rudraditya vasavo ye ca sadhya"
Translation
The Rudras, the Adityas, the Vasus, the Sadhyas, the Visvas, the Asvins, the Maruts, and the Manes, as well as the hosts of Gandharvas, Yaksas, Asuras, and Siddhas—all gaze upon You in amazement.
Vāṇi's rendering
Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sadhyas; Ashvins, storm-gods, ancestors; singers, spirits, demons, perfected ones — all stare, astonished.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| रुद्रादित्याःrudra-ādityāḥ | the Rudras and the Adityas — the fierce ones and the sun-gods (shown as rudrādityā before the following word) |
| वसवःvasavaḥ | the Vasus, gods of the elements (vasavo here by sandhi) |
| येye | those who |
| चca | and |
| साध्याःsādhyāḥ | the Sadhyas, an order of celestial beings (sādhyā before the vowel that follows) |
| विश्वेviśve | the Vishve-devas, the all-gods |
| अश्विनौaśvinau | the two Ashvins, twin gods of dawn and healing (the initial a is swallowed by sandhi: ’śvinau) |
| मरुतःmarutaḥ | the Maruts, storm-gods (marutaś before the next word) |
| चca | and (joined with the next word as co-) |
| ऊष्मपाःūṣmapāḥ | the ancestors, who take their share as rising warmth (uṣmapāś here, its vowel merged into the preceding ca) |
| चca | and |
| गन्धर्वgandharva | the Gandharvas, celestial singers |
| यक्षyakṣa | the Yakshas, nature-spirits and guardians of hidden wealth |
| असुरasura | the Asuras, the demon-powers |
| सिद्धsiddha | the Siddhas, the perfected ones |
| सङ्घाःsaṅghāḥ | the massed hosts of all these (saṅghā before the vowel that follows) |
| वीक्षन्तेvīkṣante | they gaze, they stare |
| त्वाम्tvām | at you |
| विस्मिताःvismitāḥ | astonished, struck dumb (vismitāś before the next word) |
| चca | and |
| एवeva | indeed, every last one (ca + eva joined as caiva) |
| सर्वेsarve | all of them |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 22 mean?
Arjuna names rank after rank of celestial beings — Rudras, Ādityas, Vasus, Ashvins, storm-gods, ancestors, singers, spirits, demons, perfected ones — and reports one thing about all of them: they are staring, astonished. The vision exceeds even the gods. No being inside it is calm, informed, or in charge of what it is seeing.
What does the line rudraditya vasavo ye ca sadhya say?
It opens a roll-call. Rudras, Ādityas, Vasus, Sādhyas — the fierce, the solar, the elemental, the celestial — followed by Ashvins, Maruts, ancestors, gandharvas, yakṣas, asuras, siddhas. Arjuna lists them not to catalogue the heavens but to say that the whole heavens have stopped to look, and cannot account for what they see.
Why does Arjuna list so many kinds of beings here?
Because the list is the point. Each name is a station of power he was taught to revere. Piling them up and then ending in one word — vismitāḥ, astonished — collapses the hierarchy. Krishna's form is not one more level above them; it is what all of them are looking at, equally unable to take it in.
How does a verse of astonishment help someone in grief?
Grief keeps searching for the person who already understands — the elder, the teacher, the god who will explain. This verse says the search ends nowhere, and that this is not your failure. Even the Rudras stand there speechless. You are not behind; you are in company. Astonishment is a place where the whole of the created order stands together.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Count the ranks: Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, ancestors, singers, spirits, demons, perfected ones. Every order of being Arjuna has ever been told stands above him — and all of them are staring. Not explaining. Not presiding. Astonished, like him. The gods themselves are spectators here. This is what breaks the last of Arjuna's composure: there is no one inside the vision who has seen this before, no authority to turn to who already understands. You look for someone further along, someone who has made sense of the loss. Sometimes the honest report from every height above you is the same single word — astonished.