Chapter 11 Shlokas 26, 27

अमी च त्वां धृतराष्टस्य पुत्रा: सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसंघैः।

भीष्मो द्रोण: सूतपुत्रस्तथासौ सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः।।२६।।

वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि।

केचिद् विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु सन्दृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गै:।।२७।।

All those sons of Dhritrashtra, along with the other kings

and Bhishma, Dronacharya and Karna, accompanied by

our principal warriors, are speedily entering Your

fear-inspiring and terrible mouth with its gruesome teeth;

and several others are visible, with their

heads squashed between Your teeth.

Chapter 11 Shlokas 26, 27

अमी च त्वां धृतराष्टस्य पुत्रा: सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसंघैः।

भीष्मो द्रोण: सूतपुत्रस्तथासौ सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः।।२६।।

वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि।

केचिद् विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु सन्दृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गै:।।२७।।

Arjuna continues to speak:

All those sons of Dhritrashtra, along with the other kings and Bhishma, Dronacharya and Karna, accompanied by our principal warriors, are speedily entering Your fear-inspiring and terrible mouth with its gruesome teeth; and several others are visible, with their heads squashed between Your teeth.

The vision of the fearsome aspect of the Lord

Arjuna is witnessing the Lord’s most fearsome manifestation, which bestows the most terrible death. He sees great warriors, brave and courageous, hurtling towards their own death and entering the Lord’s mouth.

He sees blood gushing out in the Lord’s mouth. He sees Death claiming many, but Death too, is part of the Lord’s fearsome form. In fact, all that transpires in the world which rents the heart with terror and grief, occurs within that same supreme, fear-inspiring manifestation of the Lord.

Arjuna perceived all the sons of Dhritrashtra, along with their kingly allies, entering the mouths of the Lord. He saw Bhishma Pitamah, Dronacharya and Karna and the heads of many others crushed and hanging between the Lord’s teeth.

The Lord’s Omnipresence

Little one, if the joy-giving, benevolent qualities belong to the Lord, one must understand that those qualities that cause great sorrow and fear also spring from Him. If the Lord claims the virtuous qualities as His own, and then says that He is all, then even the most terrible wars take place within That Supreme One. All the assaults and deaths, all the suffering and privations, the opposition and enmity also emanate from Him.

Arjuna is getting a complete view of the Lord’s entirety. Hence he is believing that all that happens in the world, is happening in the Lord.

1. Arjuna has not yet realised that the Lord is not the body but the Atma.

2. He is still not able to understand that the Lord symbolises both benevolence and terror.

He is not witnessing all this from the point of view of one established in the Atma, but as one abiding in the body. His perception of the Lord in His totality does not spring from his own inner strength and conviction, but from the Lord’s immense grace.

It could be said that he is perceiving the Lord through the spontaneous flow of Pragya – knowledge that flows from the pure intellect. However, if one examines it closely, it becomes evident that he is perceiving only what he wishes to perceive.

Whereas the Lord is revealing His divine form, Arjuna perceives therein the terrifying images that foretell victory for himself and the destruction of his foes. He has not yet perceived his own self as a part of the Lord’s Being. Arjuna is not relinquishing his individuality.