Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 3
एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर।
द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम।।
द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम।।
evam etad yathāttha tvam ātmānaṁ parameśvara
draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśwaraṁ puruṣottama
also searched as "evam etad yathattha tvam atmanam paramesvara"
Translation
O Supreme Lord, as You have described Yourself, so You are. I wish to behold Your divine form, O Supreme Person.
Vāṇi's rendering
It is exactly as you say. But I long to see it — your form of majesty, with my own eyes.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| एवम्evam | thus, so, in this way |
| एतत्etat | this — all that you have just said |
| यथाyathā | just as (joined by sandhi with āttha) |
| आत्थāttha | you have declared, you have spoken |
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| आत्मानम्ātmānam | yourself, your own being |
| परमेश्वरparameśvara | O supreme lord |
| द्रष्टुम्draṣṭum | to see, to behold |
| इच्छामिicchāmi | I long, I wish |
| तेte | your |
| रूपम्rūpam | form, shape, appearance |
| ऐश्वरम्aiśvaram | of majesty, of sovereign power |
| पुरुषोत्तमpuruṣottama | O highest among beings |
Frequently asked
If Arjuna already accepts what Krishna has said, why does he ask to see the form?
Because accepting and seeing are different acts. Arjuna's words concede everything — evam etad, it is just so. But hearing leaves a distance. He wants the truth to enter through the eyes, where nothing can be held at arm's length.
What does aishvaram rupam mean in this verse?
The form belonging to an īśvara — a form of sovereignty, of unrestricted power. Arjuna is not asking to see Krishna the charioteer more closely. He is asking for the form in which all that Krishna has claimed about himself is visibly true at once.
Why does Arjuna use so many names for Krishna here?
Parameśvara, puruṣottama — the names carry the request. Arjuna is addressing not the cousin beside him but the one who spoke chapters nine and ten. The names are how he raises the register of the asking.
Is wanting proof a sign of weak faith?
Not here. Krishna does not scold Arjuna for the request; he grants it. The longing to see is treated as legitimate, even honoured. Faith that wants to become sight is still faith, moving.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Arjuna believes him. He says so plainly — it is exactly as you say — and then asks to see anyway. Belief was never the obstacle. Something in him needs the eyes involved, needs the majesty to arrive through the body and not only through the ear. Krishna has described himself as the taste in water, the light in fire, the seed of everything living. Arjuna doubts none of it. He wants it to stop being a description. You have held things as true for years without once having seen them. That gap is not weakness. It is where asking begins.