The Four Vishvarupas

by Swami Krishnananda

After Sri Krishna showed the Vishvarupa to Arjuna, he said, “This thing you have seen now, even the gods are aspiring to see.” What is the meaning of 'this thing'? Is he referring to the Vishvarupa, or to his other form which is four-handed? Which form is he actually referring to when he says, “The gods also are eager to see this”?

In the Gita Press translation of the Bhagavadgita, they have added within brackets their own interpretation of it. The exact meaning is not available in the original because it simply says “this thing, this form”. It can be that form or this form; it is up to you to choose whichever you like. But the Gita Press edition says “this form with four hands”. Now, it is very surprising that the gods should be so eager to see this four-handed form. What is the great point in it? Actually, the other form is really wonderful. They would be aspiring to see that wondrous form. There is some sense in their longing for it. So the interpretation in brackets appears to be very uncalled for. They should not interfere and put their ideas into it and within brackets say it is four-handed. This is something which nobody has seen, and even the gods have not seen.

What is it that Sri Krishna is referring to? This four-handed form is a common thing and cannot be regarded as something unusual. So when it is said that even the gods want to see this, it may not refer to the four-handed form, as that has been seen by many others under different circumstances. It must be the other form. But as the original does not say anything specific, a double meaning is possible.

But there is another point if the gods are also aspiring to see this Vishvarupa. Would it be possible for any person to be alive while seeing it perpetually, day and night? Their existence itself would be abolished, so what is the meaning of saying that even the gods are aspiring to see this? Would they like to see it the whole day? Nobody would like to see it the whole day. You cannot exist after seeing it because a perpetual vision of that will be equal to a perpetual abolition of one's own existence. You cannot exist after appreciating its presence in front of you. You will simply vanish. You will not exist afterwards. Do the gods wish that they should not exist, and only that should exist? The whole thing is a confusion. There is a kind of enigma between these two verses. The point is that nobody can continue to exist as an individual after beholding it, especially if the vision is for a long time. It will abolish one's personality. Will anybody crave for that condition? Even Arjuna did not want it. This is a great, important point. It requires deep thought.

Sri Krishna does not want you to consider him as having a human form, and if you say he is four-handed, he always says, “People don't understand Me; they think I have a human form, whereas My form is something different.” He says that to consider him as having a human form is degrading him, really speaking, because even if it is four-handed, it is a human form, and he says, “It is not proper that you should consider Me as having a human form.” He is a transcendent form. So he tells two things at the same time. It is very enigmatic.

There are many enigmatic places in the Gita. You can take this meaning or that meaning. One would like to have the vision of the Vishvarupa. What is the use of having the vision of a human form? That is not very important. But the point is, once you have that vision of the Vishvarupa, you cannot exist. Now, would anybody wish not to exist? We would like to be as we are, and at the same time have that vision. It is like having one's cake and eating it, both. That is not possible. Either have it or eat it.

Even the knowledge that there is a peculiar, intriguing enigma here is also an enlightenment. That you have understood the difficulty is also an enlightenment. To understand the difficulty also is a great thing. Previously you did not understand the problem, but now you understand it. That is an enlightenment of one kind.

Dhritarashtra was a peculiar man. He was not a very ignorant person. He knew everything. He knew that his son was not going to succeed. He knew the divinity of Krishna. When Sri Krishna showed his Divine Form in the court of the Kurus, and blazing flames, as it were, started jetting forth from his body, and his person extended from earth to heaven, Duryodhana could not see it. Nobody could see it. They all closed their eyes because it was dark due to the excess of light. Only Bhishma saw it, Drona saw it, Vidura saw it, and the sages and saints who were present there saw it. They all shouted, “Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory!”

At that time this blind man, Dhritarashtra, shouted, “What is this glory? I am not able to see anything. I want to see what this glory is.” At that time the Lord gave him eyes to see for a moment. He saw it. He prayed to the Lord, “Please make me blind once again because after seeing this, I do not want to see anything else.” So he had some sense. But he was saying again and again, “My son is adamant. He won't listen to my advice, and I agree that I am attached to him.” It was a double attitude he had. He had some understanding. He knew the ability of Sri Krishna, and he also knew that his sons were not going to succeed in the war, but yet he had a subtle attachment. It is a peculiar character of the Mahabharata.

Jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṁ ca (B.G. 11.54). There are three stages of appreciation of this form. First, you must understand what it is. Secondly, visualise it properly. Then, enter into it. Arjuna has visualised and seen, but he has not entered into it.

Sri Krishna showed this form four times in his life. Firstly he showed it to his mother. She shouted because he was eating clay, mud. She called him and said, “Open your mouth. Let me see.” He said, “No, I have not eaten it.” And when he opened his mouth, she found the whole ocean and all the planets moving inside. Immediately she was shocked, and afterwards ignorance came upon her. The second time was in the court of the Kauravas. The third time was to Arjuna before the war. The fourth time was when the war was over and Sri Krishna was returning to Dvarka. From Kurukshetra he was going back to Dvarka through the Rajasthan desert. On the way, he met a sage, Utanga. Utanga was a great, powerful sage. He said to Sri Krishna, “I heard there was a feud between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. What actually happened afterwards?”

Krishna replied, “What is the use of talking about all these things? We all tried our best to bring peace between them but they would not agree, so war took place and all the Kauravas were destroyed.”

“No,” Utanga said. “You personally wanted that they should die; otherwise, you could have saved them. I will curse you.”

Then Sri Krishna said, “Your cursing Me is not going to bring any benefit to you. You have earned some tapas by service of Guru, study, etc. By austerity you have amassed some spiritual strength. If you curse Me, all your energy will be wasted in one second, and it cannot affect Me at all. My power is greater.”

“Oh, is it so? What is the power you have got?” Utanga asked.

“Look at me,” Sri Krishna said, and immediately the Vishvarupa was shown to him. Then Sri Krishna said, “Tell me if I can give you anything.”

It was the Rajasthan desert, very hot, and Utanga was thirsty. “Whenever I want water, let there be water,” he said. This is all he could ask. Utanga was a foolish fellow. He could have asked for better things.

Then Sri Krishna said, “All right. Whenever you want water, you will get water.”

So it happened that by the power of Sri Krishna, whenever Utanga felt thirsty, clouds gathered and it would rain, and he could drink water. This is the last time Sri Krishna showed the Vishvarupa. He is the only Incarnation which showed the Vishvarupa.

Visitor: What is the difference between the four Vishvarupas that he showed?

Swamiji: There is no difference. It can have different shapes. In the form that Arjuna was seeing, the Vishvarupa was terrific. It was swallowing everything; all the warriors were going inside the mouth. It was a terrific shape, whereas the others were just majestic.