Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 40
नमः पुरस्तादथ पृष्ठतस्ते
नमोऽस्तु ते सर्वत एव सर्व।
अनन्तवीर्यामितविक्रमस्त्वं
सर्वं समाप्नोषि ततोऽसि सर्वः।।
नमोऽस्तु ते सर्वत एव सर्व।
अनन्तवीर्यामितविक्रमस्त्वं
सर्वं समाप्नोषि ततोऽसि सर्वः।।
namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te
namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva
ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṁ
sarvaṁ samāpnoṣi tato ’si sarvaḥ
also searched as "namah purastad atha prishthatas te"
Translation
(a) Salutations to You from before and behind! Salutations to You from all sides, O All!৷৷.
(b) ৷৷. O You of infinite prowess and heroic action, which are measureless! You pervade all beings, and therefore, You are all.
Vāṇi's rendering
I bow before you, behind you, on every side. Boundless in power, you fill everything — and so you are everything.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नमःnamaḥ | I bow; salutation |
| पुरस्तात्purastāt | from in front, before you |
| अथatha | and also |
| पृष्ठतःpṛṣṭhataḥ | from behind (appears as pṛṣṭhatas before te) |
| तेte | to you |
| नमःnamaḥ | salutation (namo before astu) |
| अस्तुastu | let there be |
| तेte | to you |
| सर्वतःsarvataḥ | from every side (sarvata before eva) |
| एवeva | indeed, truly |
| सर्वsarva | O All — you who are everything |
| अनन्त-वीर्यananta-vīrya | endless in power |
| अमित-विक्रमःamita-vikramaḥ | measureless in striding might (vīrya + amita joined as vīryāmita in the verse) |
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| सर्वम्sarvam | all, everything |
| समाप्नोषिsamāpnoṣi | you fill through and through, you reach everywhere |
| ततःtataḥ | therefore (tato before asi) |
| असिasi | you are (elided to ’si) |
| सर्वःsarvaḥ | all — everything itself |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 40 mean?
Arjuna bows in front, behind, and on every side, because the vision has left him no direction that is empty of Krishna. Then he draws the conclusion himself: one who fills everything cannot be something inside everything. Krishna is not in all — Krishna is all. The bow is simply the honest response to that.
What does namah purastad atha prishthatas te teach about worship?
It teaches that reverence stops needing an altar. Arjuna begins by orienting himself — front, back — and then gives up orientation altogether. When the one you honour is on every side, worship is no longer a turning toward. It becomes the way you stand in the middle of ordinary life.
Why does Arjuna call Krishna sarva, meaning All?
Because he has just seen there is nothing left over. Ananta-vīrya, amita-vikrama — endless power, measureless stride. What has no boundary cannot be one item among others. So Arjuna's address changes: not Krishna the friend beside him, but Krishna as the whole in which friend and chariot and battlefield stand.
How can this verse help me when I feel far from God?
Distance assumes a direction. This verse quietly removes it. If Krishna fills everything, then the place you feel abandoned in is also made of him — the waiting room, the grief, the ordinary Tuesday. You are not far. You are simply facing one side of something that has no other side.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna cannot find a direction that is not Krishna. So he bows in front, then behind, then abandons the count and bows everywhere — sarvata eva. This is not extravagant piety; it is the only honest posture left when the field itself turns out to be the one you were addressing. Notice the logic in the last line. Because you fill everything, you are everything — the pervading is not a claim about reach but about identity. There is no back of Krishna to turn away from. Which means the direction you are facing right now, whatever it is, is already toward him.