Chapter 11, Verse 37
कस्माच्च ते न नमेरन्महात्मन् गरीयसे ब्रह्मणोऽप्यादिकर्त्रे | अनन्त देवेश जगन्निवास त्वमक्षरं सदसत्तत्परं यत् ||११-३७||
kasmācca te na nameranmahātman garīyase brahmaṇo.apyādikartre . ananta deveśa jagannivāsa tvamakṣaraṃ sadasattatparaṃ yat ||11-37||
Meaning
11.37 And why should they not, O great Soul, bow to Thee Who art greater (than all else), the primal cause even of the Creator (Brahma), O Infinite Being, O Lord of the gods, O Abode of the universe; Thou art the imperishable, the Being, the non-being and That which is the supreme (that which is beyond the Being and the non-being).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna's reverence now finds full voice in philosophy. Why should beings not bow, he asks, to the one who is adi-kartre — the original cause even of Brahma the creator? Krishna is greater than the greatest, the source from which the source itself arises. He heaps on titles of infinity: Ananta, the endless; Devesa, Lord of gods; Jagannivasa, dwelling-place of all worlds.
The verse climbs to a profound metaphysical height. Krishna is aksaram, the imperishable; He is sat and asat — both the manifest being and the unmanifest non-being — and yet tat param yat, that which transcends even these. This is the language by which the Upanishads point beyond all categories to the ultimate Reality. Arjuna has moved from describing what he sees to declaring what Krishna is. His fear has been transmuted into theology, his trembling into adoration. The seeker too, on this path, finds that genuine awe ripens naturally into the deepest understanding of the Supreme.
💡 Key Takeaway
The Supreme is the source of all sources, transcending even being and non-being — worthy of all beings' reverence.
Related Verses
मन्यसे यदि तच्छक्यं मया द्रष्टुमिति प्रभो | योगेश्वर ततो मे त्वं दर्शयात्मानमव्ययम् ||११-४||
manyase yadi tacchakyaṃ mayā draṣṭumiti prabho . yogeśvara tato me tvaṃ darśayātmānamavyayam ||11-4||
11.4 If Thou, O Lord, thinkest it possible for me to see it, do Thou, then, O Lord of the Yogins, show me Thy imperishable Self.
अनेकवक्त्रनयनमनेकाद्भुतदर्शनम् | अनेकदिव्याभरणं दिव्यानेकोद्यतायुधम् ||११-१०||
anekavaktranayanamanekādbhutadarśanam . anekadivyābharaṇaṃ divyānekodyatāyudham ||11-10||
11.10 With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wonderful sights, with numerous divine ornaments, with numerous divine weapons uplifted (such a form He showed).
दिव्यमाल्याम्बरधरं दिव्यगन्धानुलेपनम् | सर्वाश्चर्यमयं देवमनन्तं विश्वतोमुखम् ||११-११||
divyamālyāmbaradharaṃ divyagandhānulepanam . sarvāścaryamayaṃ devamanantaṃ viśvatomukham ||11-11||
11.11 Wearing divine garlands (necklaces) and apparel, anointed with divine unguents, the all-wonderful, resplendent (Being) endless with faces on all sides.