Bhagavad Gita 10.16
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 16 of 42 · Arjuna's Journey
वक्तुमर्हस्यशेषेण दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः | याभिर्विभूतिभिर्लोकानिमांस्त्वं व्याप्य तिष्ठसि ||१६||
vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ | yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṃs tvaṃ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi || 16 ||
Declare fully Your divine attributes by which You pervade and sustain all these worlds, O Bhagavān.
Word by word (3)
- vaktum arhasi aśeṣeṇa divyāḥ hi ātma-vibhūtayaḥ
- — You should indeed speak without reserve of Your divine vibhūtis · vaktum = to speak, to tell (infinitive of √vac = to speak; vaktum = 'to say, to tell, to speak'). arhasi = You should, You are fit (from √arh = to deserve, to be fit; arhasi = second person singular = 'You are fit to, You should'). aśeṣeṇa = without reserve, entirely, completely (a = not; śeṣa = remainder; aśeṣa = having no remainder, complete; aśeṣeṇa = adverb instrumental = 'without any remainder, fully, without withholding anything'). divyāḥ = divine (plural feminine, agreeing with vibhūtayaḥ). hi = indeed, for, because (emphatic/explanatory particle). ātma-vibhūtayaḥ = Your divine manifestations (ātman = Self, here = Your own; vibhūti = divine excellence/manifestation — from vi + √bhū; vibhūtayaḥ = plural 'manifestations, excellences, glories'; ātma-vibhūtayaḥ = 'Your own divine manifestations'). vaktum arhasi aśeṣeṇa = 'You should speak fully/without reserve' — the request is for COMPLETE revelation, nothing withheld. The SW commentary note: 'Since none else can do so.' This is why V16's request is addressed to the divine alone: no one else CAN speak the divine vibhūtis authoritatively (echoing V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha — only You know Yourself).
- yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṃs tvaṃ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi
- — By which vibhūtis You pervade and stand in all these worlds · yābhir = by which (instrumental relative pronoun, feminine plural — 'by which things, by means of which'). vibhūtibhiḥ = by vibhūtis (instrumental plural of vibhūti — 'by means of the divine manifestations, through the vibhūtis'). lokān = worlds (accusative plural of loka = world; lokān = 'these worlds'). imāṃs = these (accusative plural — 'these here'). tvaṃ = You. vyāpya = having pervaded (past participle/gerund of vi + √āp = to pervade; vyāpya = 'having pervaded, filling, pervading'). tiṣṭhasi = You stand, You exist (√sthā = to stand; tiṣṭhasi = second person singular = 'You stand, You are, You exist'). vyāpya tiṣṭhasi = 'having pervaded [the worlds], You stand [in them]' — the pervasive-immanent presence described. The vibhūtis are the MEANS by which the divine pervades the worlds: each vibhūti is a point of divine concentration in a domain of existence. Asking for the vibhūtis is asking: 'Where specifically can I encounter You in this world? What are the points of concentrated divine presence?' This makes V16's request deeply practical: not theological curiosity but a map for encountering the divine in the world.
- ātma-vibhūtayaḥ — V16 introduces the term ātma-vibhūti (divine's own manifestations) grounding Arjuna's request
- — V16's ātma-vibhūtayaḥ (Your own divine manifestations) is the formal request term that opens the vibhūti catalogue — Arjuna is asking for a map of where the divine is most concentrated in the world · V16 is structurally the REQUEST verse that opens the vibhūti catalogue (V20-V42). The three Arjuna verses (V16, V17, V18) each ask a different aspect: V16 = speak in full (aśeṣeṇa — ask for completeness); V17 = how to meditate (cathaṃ vidyām — practical application); V18 = tell me again (bhūyaḥ kathaya — the joy of hearing). Together they give three motivations for asking: (1) completeness (nothing withheld); (2) practical application (meditation); (3) devotional delight (never satiated). These three motivations correspond to the three human needs the vibhūti teaching addresses: (1) intellectual: complete knowledge of divine manifestations; (2) practical: tools for meditation/contemplation; (3) devotional: the pure joy of hearing about the divine. V16's aśeṣeṇa (without reserve, completely) also echoes V9.1's guhyatama (most secret) — what was once the most secret teaching (Ch.9) is now being asked to be spoken aśeṣeṇa (completely). The progression: secret → partially revealed (V1-V11) → fully revealed on request (V16 request → V20-V42 catalogue).
Tell me, then, without reserve, of Your divine glories by which You pervade and sustain all these worlds.
A modern analogy
A traveler who knows a city-guide is present asks: 'Please tell me completely all the places where this city is most alive — where the best music is, where the most beauty is, where the deepest history is.' This verse is this request to the divine city-guide: 'Tell me all the places in this world-city where You are most concentrated, so I can go there (in my attention and meditation) and find You.'
What it does NOT mean
This verse is not asking for theological facts for intellectual collection. The vibhūtis (divine glories) are tools for encountering the divine. Asking where the divine pervades the world (vyāpya tiṣṭhasi, by which You pervade and abide) is a practical question: 'Give me the map so I can find You.' The entire catalogue of glories that follows — from the ātman seated in every heart to the single fragment that upholds all things — is best understood as a meditation map, not an encyclopedia entry.
Take with you
- This verse's vaktum arhasi aśeṣeṇa (You are able to declare without reserve) is a prayer posture: when you approach the divine (in prayer, meditation, study), ask explicitly for complete revelation — not just what you already know, not just what confirms your current beliefs, but aśeṣeṇa (without remainder). This posture of open asking invites more than closed confirmation-seeking.
- Arjuna's request unfolds in three movements — declare the attributes fully, then ask how to meditate and in what forms to think of the divine, then ask to hear of the yoga and glories again from delight — and together they model devotional asking: before asking for specific guidance, ensure you have (1) asked for completeness; (2) asked for practical application (how to use what you learn); (3) expressed devotional delight in the answer (the love of learning from the divine). These three together create the right asking-posture.
- The vibhūti catalogue is a practical meditation resource: when you read ahead the long revelation that begins with the divine as the ātman in every heart and ends with the single fragment that upholds the universe, treat each glory as this verse's request being answered: 'This is WHERE I am concentrated; meditate here to find Me.' Each glory is a doorway into the divine presence.
Public-domain translations (2) compare all →
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am the ātman, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the heart of all beings — their beginning, middle, and end.
You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Puruṣottama, Maker of beings, God of Gods — tell me Your vibhūtis.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Verse 16 of 42 · back to Chapter 10