Devotion balances awe with intimacy.
Arjuna speaks to Krishna
किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रहस्तंइच्छामि त्वां द्रष्टुमहं तथैव |तेनैव रूपेण चतुर्भुजेनसहस्रबाहो भव विश्वमूर्ते ||११-४६||
kirīṭinaṃ gadinaṃ cakrahastaṃ icchāmi tvāṃ draṣṭumahaṃ tathaiva . tenaiva rūpeṇa caturbhujena sahasrabāho bhava viśvamūrte ||11-46||
Use this verse for choosing a meditation form.
Meaning
I wish to see You again wearing the crown, holding the mace and discus, in that four-armed form. O thousand-armed universal form, please appear in that form.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Arjuna asks to see Krishna’s more approachable divine form.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
After the overwhelming Vishvarupa, Arjuna seeks the form that allows loving relationship. This shows that bhakti needs both awe and intimacy.
Read the traditional commentary
Arjuna makes his longing precise. He wishes to see Krishna once more in the familiar, gracious form — crowned with the kirita, bearing the gada (mace), holding the cakra (discus) in hand, the four-armed shape of Vishnu he knows and loves. After the boundless terror, he yearns for the recognisable emblems of the Lord's beauty.
There is a touching paradox in his address. He still calls Krishna sahasra-baho and visva-murte — 'thousand-armed' and 'Cosmic Form' — even while asking for the gentler four-armed appearance. He does not forget the vastness he has seen; he carries that knowledge into his request for nearness.
This is the mature posture of the devotee. Having beheld the infinite, Arjuna chooses to relate to the Divine through a form he can hold in his heart and worship with love. The boundless and the intimate are not in conflict; the seeker simply needs a face to which devotion can be offered, while never forgetting the immensity behind it.
In daily life
Use a Krishna form that helps your heart connect.
A person may choose Vishvarupa for awe and four-armed Krishna/Vishnu for steadiness.
Try this today
Choose one Krishna image for today’s meditation.
I connect with Krishna through awe and love.Reflect
Which Krishna form helps me connect today?
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Quick check
What does ‘सहस्रबाहो’ 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 7.17The purest devotion seeks the Divine for nothing but Itself — and there, love flows mutually between the soul and God.
- Verse 18.64The deepest spiritual truths are shared not as commands but as tender gifts of love to the beloved devotee.
- Verse 6.31Once rooted in oneness and devotion, you abide in the Divine through every activity of daily life.
Swipe left for 11.47 · Grace reveals what effort alone cannot.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 11.46
Who says Bhagavad Gita 11.46, and to whom?
Arjuna speaks to Krishna in verse 11.46, in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga (Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 11.46 mean?
I wish to see You again wearing the crown, holding the mace and discus, in that four-armed form. O thousand-armed universal form, please appear in that form. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 11.46 for daily life?
Use a Krishna form that helps your heart connect. A person may choose Vishvarupa for awe and four-armed Krishna/Vishnu for steadiness.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 11.46 mean?
किरीटिनम् — wearing the crown; गदिनम् — with the mace; चक्रहस्तम् — with the discus in hand; इच्छामि त्वाम् द्रष्टुम् — I wish to see You; तथा एव — just as before.
Where does verse 11.46 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 46 of 55 in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga. The next verse is 11.47.