Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 6
पश्यादित्यान्वसून्रुद्रानश्विनौ मरुतस्तथा।
बहून्यदृष्टपूर्वाणि पश्याऽश्चर्याणि भारत।।
बहून्यदृष्टपूर्वाणि पश्याऽश्चर्याणि भारत।।
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutas tathā
bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata
also searched as "pashyadityan vasun rudran ashvinau marutas tatha"
Translation
Behold, O Arjuna, the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Asvins, and the Maruts—many marvels never seen before.
Vāṇi's rendering
See the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Ashvins, the storm-gods — wonders no one has ever seen.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पश्यpaśya | see, look (command; joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| आदित्यान्ādityān | the Adityas, the shining sun-powers |
| वसून्vasūn | the Vasus, powers of the elements |
| रुद्रान्rudrān | the Rudras, the fierce ones of storm and dissolution |
| अश्विनौaśvinau | the two Ashvins, the twin riders before dawn |
| मरुतःmarutaḥ | the Maruts, the wind-hosts |
| तथाtathā | and so too, likewise |
| बहूनिbahūni | many (final vowel shortened before the next word) |
| अदृष्टपूर्वाणिadṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi | not seen before, unseen until now |
| पश्यpaśya | see, look (the command repeated; joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| आश्चर्याणिāścaryāṇi | wonders, marvels |
| भारतbhārata | O Bharata, descendant of Bharata (Arjuna) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 6 mean?
Krishna has opened Arjuna's sight and now names what fills it — Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aśvins, Maruts, whole orders of being no eye has held before. He does not interpret any of it. He says paśya, see. The verse asks nothing of you but attention wide enough to admit what you had not accounted for.
What does pashyadityan vasun rudran ashvinau marutas tatha mean?
It means: see the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Aśvins, the storm-gods too. The line is a command, and Krishna repeats that command before the verse ends. He is not arguing Arjuna into belief; he is directing a gaze he has just made capable of seeing.
Who are the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Ashvins and Maruts here?
They are the great orders of the deva-hosts — Ādityas of light, Vasus of the elements, Rudras of storm and dissolution, the twin Aśvins who ride ahead of dawn, Maruts of wind. Krishna names them not as a list to memorise but as the first edge of a vastness Arjuna asked to see.
Why does Krishna tell Arjuna to look instead of to understand?
Because understanding arranges; looking receives. Arjuna's whole trouble has been that he already decided what the field holds and what it means. Krishna gives him sight before he gives him doctrine. The wonder comes first, and it comes unglossed — adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi, never seen before.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Twice in one verse Krishna says only: see. Not understand, not believe — look. He has just given Arjuna the eye that can bear it, and now he lists the hosts: Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, the storm-gods, ranks of being no one has ever laid eyes on. Arjuna asked for this. He asked to see the form, and what arrives first is not one form but a crowd, more than he can count. Krishna does not explain any of it. Wonder, here, is not a feeling to be produced; it is what happens when you stop deciding in advance what the world contains.