Bhagavad Gita 10.40
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 40 of 42
नान्तोऽस्ति मम दिव्यानां विभूतीनां परन्तप | एष तूद्देशतः प्रोक्तो विभूतेर्विस्तरो मया ||४०||
nānto'sti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ parantapa | eṣa tūddeśataḥ prokto vibhūter vistaro mayā || 40 ||
There is no end to My divine vibhūtis, O scorcher of foes — what I have told you is but a sample of My infinite extent.
Word by word (3)
- na antaḥ asti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ parantapa
- — There is no end to My divine vibhūtis, O scorcher of foes · na antaḥ asti = there is no end (na = not; antaḥ = end, limit — from anta = end; na antaḥ asti = 'there is no end'). mama = My (genitive of aham = I). divyānāṃ = divine (genitive plural of divya = divine, celestial — from divi = in the sky/heaven; divya = 'of the divine, celestial, wonderful'). vibhūtīnāṃ = of the vibhūtis (genitive plural of vibhūti = divine manifestation/power). parantapa = O scorcher of foes (para = others/foes + tapa = burning; parantapa = 'the one who burns/scorches foes'; an epithet of Arjuna). V10.19 opened the vibhūti section with: na asto vistarasya me (there is no end to My extent). V10.40 closes the catalogue with the same admission: 'There is no end to My divine vibhūtis, O Arjuna.' The frame closes: what was promised in V10.19 (a sample by prādhānyataḥ of the infinite) is acknowledged in V10.40 (the sample is complete; the infinite remains beyond any enumeration).
- eṣaḥ tu uddeśataḥ proktaḥ vibhūteḥ vistaraḥ mayā
- — But this has been declared by Me as a summary/indication (not exhaustively) · eṣaḥ = this (proximal demonstrative — 'this [vibhūti teaching] here'). tu = but, however (tu = contrastive particle). uddeśataḥ = by way of indication/example (uddeśa = 'mention, indication, example, a pointing-out' — from ud = up/forth + deśa = pointing; uddeśataḥ = 'by way of pointing at, indicatively, not exhaustively'); SW: 'brief statement by Me.' proktaḥ = declared, spoken (past passive participle of pra + √vac = to speak; proktaḥ = 'declared, stated'). vibhūteḥ = of the vibhūtis (genitive singular of vibhūti). vistaraḥ = the detailed account/extension (vistara = 'breadth, extension, detail' — from vi + √star = to spread out; vistara = the spreading out, the detailed elaboration). mayā = by Me (instrumental). The entire vibhūti catalogue (V10.20-V10.38) is now declared to be uddeśataḥ — an INDICATION, not an exhaustive listing. The 20+ vibhūtis were not the complete list (which would be infinite) but examples chosen by prādhānyataḥ (V10.19) to train the recognition capacity. V10.40 names this explicitly: the teaching was indicative, not comprehensive. What follows (V10.41-V10.42) gives the comprehensive principle that the indicative examples were training toward.
- [structural note]
- — V10.40 as the closing admission and bridge to V10.41-V10.42 · V10.40 performs two functions: (1) Closing admission: the catalogue (V10.20-V10.38) is acknowledged as incomplete — 'there is no end to My vibhūtis.' This releases the reader from the attempt to memorize or enumerate all vibhūtis. (2) Bridge: by naming the catalogue as uddeśataḥ (indicative/by example), V10.40 prepares the way for V10.41's synthesis principle — the generalization that the examples were training toward. The movement: examples (V10.20-V10.38) → admission of incompleteness (V10.40) → synthesis principle (V10.41) → final compression (V10.42). V10.40 is the necessary acknowledgment that enables V10.41's generalization.
There is no end to My divine glories, O scorcher of foes; what I have spoken is only a brief indication of My boundless splendour.
A modern analogy
This verse's uddeśataḥ proktaḥ (declared by way of indication, not exhaustively) parallels the scientific method's use of representative examples: when teaching a scientific principle, a teacher gives a limited number of examples chosen for their clarity and concentration of the principle — not because those are the only cases but because those examples are the best training ground for the student's pattern-recognition. After the examples, the student applies the principle to new cases. The vibhūti catalogue — from the opening promise to declare the foremost divine manifestations through to this verse — is the example-set; the verse that names the divine fragment behind all excellence is the principle.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's admission that the catalogue is incomplete ('no end to My vibhūtis') is not a failure of the teaching. It is the teaching's liberation: the 20-plus named vibhūtis were not meant to exhaust the divine's expressions but to TRAIN THE RECOGNITION. Like a teacher who gives 20 examples of a grammatical rule, not to say there are only 20 cases but to develop pattern-recognition — after 20 examples, you can recognize the pattern in any new case. The next verse will state the pattern: wherever excellence, beauty, or power appears, it is born from a fragment of the divine splendor. This verse releases the student from memorization-anxiety: 'You don't need to enumerate all vibhūtis. The pattern is what matters.'
Take with you
- This verse's liberation from enumeration anxiety: if you've been feeling the pressure to memorize all the vibhūtis in the catalogue, this verse explicitly releases you: 'there is no end to My vibhūtis.' The point was never memorization — it was recognition training. The practice: can you recognize the divine's concentration in something you encounter today that was NOT named in the catalogue? That recognition is what the catalogue was training.
- This verse's uddeśataḥ (indicative teaching) as a model for your own communication: when teaching or explaining something complex, be explicit when you are giving examples rather than complete enumeration. 'Here are three examples that concentrate the principle — not all cases, but the ones that best reveal the pattern.' This is the uddeśataḥ approach: examples chosen for their concentration of the essential quality, not for exhaustiveness. This verse models pedagogical honesty.
- This verse's na antaḥ asti (no end) as an infinity-contemplation: spend 5 minutes contemplating the genuine infinity of the divine's vibhūtis. Every being on earth (millions of species × billions of individuals). Every element of every ecosystem. Every relationship, conversation, creative act, thought. Every moment of history. Every star in the galaxy. All of these are vibhūtis — the divine concentrated in specific expressions within the infinite. This verse's 'no end' is not hyperbole. It is an accurate statement about infinite.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
There is no end of My divine attributes, O scorcher of foes; but this is a brief statement by Me of the particulars of My divine attributes. [4]
My divine manifestations, O harasser of thy foes, are without end, the many which I have mentioned are by way of example. [6]
Nor tongue can tell, Arjuna! nor end of telling come / Of these My boundless glories, whereof I teach thee some [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I shall tell you My foremost divine manifestations, O best of Kurus — My nature's extent is without end.
Whatever being has excellence, prosperity, or power — know it as born from a fragment of My splendor.
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 40 of 42 · back to Chapter 10