Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 52
श्री भगवानुवाच
सुदुर्दर्शमिदं रूपं दृष्टवानसि यन्मम।
देवा अप्यस्य रूपस्य नित्यं दर्शनकाङ्क्षिणः।।
सुदुर्दर्शमिदं रूपं दृष्टवानसि यन्मम।
देवा अप्यस्य रूपस्य नित्यं दर्शनकाङ्क्षिणः।।
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
su-durdarśam idaṁ rūpaṁ dṛṣṭavān asi yan mama
devā apy asya rūpasya nityaṁ darśana-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ
also searched as "sudurdarsham idam rupam drishtavan asi yan mama"
Translation
The Lord said, "It is very hard to behold this form of Mine which you have seen. Even the gods everlong to behold this form."
Vāṇi's rendering
The form you saw is almost never seen. Even the gods long, endlessly, for one glimpse of it.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रीभगवान्śrī-bhagavān | Krishna, the blessed one |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| सुदुर्दर्शम्su-durdarśam | extremely hard to see, almost never beheld |
| इदम्idaṁ | this |
| रूपम्rūpaṁ | form |
| दृष्टवान्dṛṣṭavān | have seen |
| असिasi | you are — with the previous word, "you have seen" |
| यत्yan | which (yat, nasalised before mama) |
| ममmama | of mine |
| देवाःdevā | the gods (devāḥ, sandhi before api) |
| अपिapy | even (api, shortened before asya) |
| अस्यasya | of this |
| रूपस्यrūpasya | form |
| नित्यम्nityaṁ | always, endlessly |
| दर्शनकाङ्क्षिणःdarśana-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ | longing for a sight of it |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 52 mean?
Krishna tells Arjuna the worth of what he has just seen and asked to be spared. The cosmic form is su-durdarśam — almost never seen. Even the devas wait endlessly for one glimpse. Arjuna received unasked what the gods long for, and could not hold it. The verse measures the gift after the giving.
What does the line sudurdarsham idam rupam drishtavan asi yan mama teach?
That the vision was never Arjuna's achievement. He did not practise for it, bargain for it, or prove himself worthy of it. Krishna showed it, and Arjuna trembled. When you look back at the openings that came to you unearned, this verse tells you what they were worth — and that you were not the one who arranged them.
Why do even the gods long to see this form?
Because longing is not a defect to be cured. The devas dwell in light and still they wait, nityaṁ, always. Krishna does not present their longing as failure. He presents it as the natural posture of anyone who has heard of such a form. Your own unsatisfied wanting stands in good company.
If the vision is so rare, is there any point in seeking it?
Seek, but do not audit the results. Krishna says the form is hard to see, not that seeking is wasted. What follows in this chapter is his answer: undivided love reaches him where effort alone cannot. Keep your face turned that way, and leave the timing of the seeing to him.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has just asked for the four-armed form to go away. He wants the familiar face back. Krishna does not scold him for it — he simply tells him what he held for a moment: the form the gods stand in line for, and rarely see. Notice the order. The gift came before the asking, before the worthiness, before the readiness. Arjuna did nothing to earn it and could not bear it when it came. That is how such things arrive in your life too — unasked, oversized, gone before you knew to be grateful. Krishna is putting a price on what you already held without knowing it.