Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 46
किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रहस्त
मिच्छामि त्वां द्रष्टुमहं तथैव।
तेनैव रूपेण चतुर्भुजेन
सहस्रबाहो भव विश्वमूर्ते।।
मिच्छामि त्वां द्रष्टुमहं तथैव।
तेनैव रूपेण चतुर्भुजेन
सहस्रबाहो भव विश्वमूर्ते।।
kirīṭinaṁ gadinaṁ cakra-hastam
icchāmi tvāṁ draṣṭum ahaṁ tathaiva
tenaiva rūpeṇa catur-bhujena
sahasra-bāho bhava viśva-mūrte
also searched as "kiritinam gadinam cakra-hastam"
Translation
I wish to see You ever as before, with crown and mace and discus in hand. Assume again that four-armed shape, O Thou the thousand-armed, of Universal Form!
Vāṇi's rendering
Let me see you as before — crowned, mace and discus in hand. Thousand-armed one, take again your four-armed form.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| किरीटिनम्kirīṭinaṁ | wearing the crown |
| गदिनम्gadinaṁ | bearing the mace |
| चक्रहस्तम्cakra-hastam | with the discus in hand (final -m joins with the next word by sandhi) |
| इच्छामिicchāmi | I wish |
| त्वाम्tvāṁ | you |
| द्रष्टुम्draṣṭum | to see |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| तथाtathā | in that way, as before |
| एवeva | just, exactly (joined to tathā as tathaiva) |
| तेनtena | by that, in that |
| एवeva | the very same (joined to tena as tenaiva) |
| रूपेणrūpeṇa | form |
| चतुर्भुजेनcatur-bhujena | four-armed |
| सहस्रबाहोsahasra-bāho | O thousand-armed one |
| भवbhava | become, be |
| विश्वमूर्तेviśva-mūrte | O you whose form is the whole world |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 46 mean?
Arjuna, shaken by the cosmic form, asks Krishna to return to the familiar shape — crowned, holding mace and discus, four-armed. He is not rejecting the vision. He is asking the vastness to gather itself into something a friend can face, speak to, and love without terror.
What is the meaning of kiritinam gadinam chakrahastam?
Crowned, mace-bearing, discus in hand — three marks of the form Arjuna knows. He names them like a man naming a face in the dark. Having seen infinity, he reaches for the particular: the shape that has edges, and hands, and stands beside him.
Why does Arjuna still call Krishna thousand-armed while asking for four arms?
Because he is not taking anything back. The immensity remains true; he simply cannot live inside it. Addressing Krishna as sahasra-bāho and viśva-mūrte, he acknowledges the whole, then asks it to come near. Devotion does not shrink the vast. It asks the vast to approach.
Does this verse mean the personal form is greater than the universal form?
It means love has its own requirements. Awe can be borne only briefly; nearness can be lived in. Krishna grants the request without argument, which tells you something. The form you can stand before is not a lesser truth — it is the truth made bearable.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
He has just been shown everything, and he asks for less. The mouths, the worlds burning in them, the thousand arms — Arjuna saw it and could not stay. So he asks for the crown, the mace, the discus: a shape with edges, a face he can stand in front of. Krishna does not scold him for it. Love needs somewhere to rest its eyes, and the vast form gives it nowhere. Notice that he still calls him thousand-armed while begging for four. He is not denying the immensity; he is asking it to come close enough to be loved. Ask for the form you can hold.