True seeing follows trust and readiness.
Arjuna speaks to Krishna
एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर |द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम ||११-३||
evametadyathāttha tvamātmānaṃ parameśvara . draṣṭumicchāmi te rūpamaiśvaraṃ puruṣottama ||11-3||
Use this verse before deeper devotional practice.
Meaning
O Supreme Lord, what You have said about Yourself is true. O Supreme Person, I desire to see Your divine form.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Arjuna asks to see Krishna’s divine form.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Faith has matured into longing for direct experience. Arjuna does not ask casually; he asks after receiving teaching and trusting Krishna’s words.
Read the traditional commentary
Here Arjuna makes his great request. He affirms evam etat — 'it is just as You have said' — fully accepting the truth of Krishna's words. Yet acceptance gives birth to a new desire: drastum icchami, 'I wish to see'. He longs to behold the aisvara rupa, the form of majesty and sovereignty.
Notice the two grand titles he uses: Paramesvara, Supreme Lord, and Purushottama, the Highest Person. Arjuna's intellect has acknowledged Krishna's supremacy; now his heart wants the seal of direct experience. This is a profoundly human moment.
We may trust a truth completely and still yearn to encounter it for ourselves. The Gita does not condemn this hunger as faithlessness — it treats it as devotion ripening into the readiness for revelation. Krishna will honour the request, but only after gifting Arjuna the eyes able to bear it.
In daily life
Seek experience with humility, not curiosity alone.
A meditator should ask for deeper awareness with sincerity, not spiritual entertainment.
Try this today
Pray for vision only with humility and surrender.
I seek Krishna’s truth with humility.Reflect
Am I seeking truth humbly or chasing experience?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘एवम् एतत्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on longing, in other chapters
- Verse 10.16 · ArjunaThe sincere heart longs to perceive the Divine not only in abstraction but in the living splendour of creation.
- Verse 3.31Sincere, faithful practice without cynicism frees anyone — this path is open to all, not just to the spiritually advanced.
- Verse 4.39Faith, wholehearted focus, and self-discipline open the door to wisdom — and wisdom swiftly brings supreme peace.
- Verse 6.47The highest of all yogis is the one who worships the Divine with faith and a heart wholly given in love.
Swipe left for 11.4 · Humility prepares the seeker for grace.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 11.3
Who says Bhagavad Gita 11.3, and to whom?
Arjuna speaks to Krishna in verse 11.3, in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga (Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 11.3 mean?
O Supreme Lord, what You have said about Yourself is true. O Supreme Person, I desire to see Your divine form. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 11.3 for daily life?
Seek experience with humility, not curiosity alone. A meditator should ask for deeper awareness with sincerity, not spiritual entertainment.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 11.3 mean?
एवम् एतत् — so it is / this is exactly so; यथा आत्थ — as You have declared; त्वम् — You; आत्मानम् — Yourself; परमेश्वर — O Supreme Lord.
Where does verse 11.3 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 3 of 55 in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga. The next verse is 11.4.