Bhagavad Gita 11.6
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 6 of 55
पश्यादित्यान्वसून्रुद्रानश्विनौ मरुतस्तथा | बहून्यदृष्टपूर्वाणि पश्याश्चर्याणि भारत ||६||
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutas tathā | bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata || 6 ||
Behold the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aśvins, Maruts — countless wonders never seen before, O Bhārata!
Word by word (3)
- paśya ādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutaḥ tathā
- — Behold the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, the twin Aśvins, and the Maruts · paśya = BEHOLD (imperative of √paś = to see; paśya = 'see! look! behold!' — the same imperative that opened V11.5's vision-grant; now repeated as the divine specifies WHAT to look at). ādityān = the Ādityas (accusative plural of Āditya = 'son of Aditi'; the 12 Ādityas are solar deities representing the twelve months of the year; each Āditya embodies one of the twelve aspects of solar energy; V10.21 gave Viṣṇu as the Āditya-vibhūti — now ALL twelve are visible in the cosmic form). vasūn = the Vasus (accusative plural of Vasu = 'the good ones'; the 8 Vasus are elemental deities representing the eight directions and material elements; V10.23 gave Pāvaka/Fire as the Vasu-vibhūti — now all eight are present). rudrān = the Rudras (accusative plural of Rudra = 'the howler/destroyer'; the 11 Rudras are storm/destruction deities connected with Śiva's energy; V10.23 gave Śaṃkara as the Rudra-vibhūti). aśvinau = the two Aśvins (dual of Aśvin = 'the horsemen'; the twin divine physicians — Nāsatya and Dasra — healer-deities of Vedic tradition; V10.22 referenced the two Aśvins in the 11 divine groups). marutaḥ = the Maruts (plural of Marut = 'the wind-storm gods'; the 49 or 7×7 Marut-deities of Vedic tradition; V10.21 gave Marīci as the Marut-vibhūti — now all Maruts present). tathā = and also, likewise. V11.6 specifies the divine categories that the cosmic form contains: all 12 Ādityas + all 8 Vasus + all 11 Rudras + 2 Aśvins + 49 Maruts = 82 divine beings visible simultaneously in one form. The Ch.10 vibhūti catalogue named ONE vibhūti per category; V11.6 shows ALL beings in each category at once.
- bahūni adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśya āścaryāṇi bhārata
- — And see many wonders never seen before, O descendant of Bharata · bahūni = many (bahūni = 'many, numerous'). adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi = never seen before (a = not + dṛṣṭa = seen + pūrva = before/prior; adṛṣṭapūrva = 'not previously seen, unprecedented, seen for the first time'; this compound is V11.6's most philosophically charged element: what is being revealed is adṛṣṭapūrva — it has never been seen before in any tradition). paśya = behold (imperative repeated — emphatic; the double paśya of V11.6 = paśya [V11.6a] + paśya [V11.6b] + V11.5's paśya = three imperatives to BEHOLD in two consecutive verses). āścaryāṇi = wonders, marvels (āścarya = 'wonderful, marvelous, astonishing' — from ā + √car = to move surprisingly; āścarya = 'that which moves beyond ordinary expectation'; the cosmic form is āścaryāṇi — genuinely astonishing, beyond ordinary comprehension). bhārata = O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna's lineage epithet — connecting him to the Bhārata dynasty, the broader clan of which both Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas are part). Adṛṣṭapūrva (never seen before): this phrase is significant — even the gods (V10.2: na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ) have not seen this form. The cosmic vision Arjuna is receiving is unprecedented in all three worlds.
- [divine-taxonomy note]
- — V11.6 relates to Ch.10's vibhūti catalogue · V11.6's listing of divine groups (Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aśvins, Maruts) directly maps onto the Ch.10 vibhūti catalogue: V10.21 named Viṣṇu (among Ādityas), Marīci (among Maruts); V10.22 named Vāsava/Indra (among devas); V10.23 named Śaṃkara (among Rudras), Pāvaka/Fire (among Vasus). The difference: in Ch.10, one vibhūti per category = the most concentrated expression. In Ch.11 V11.6, ALL of them simultaneously = the cosmic form's totality. The Gita's pedagogical sequence: Ch.10 gave recognition training (one per category); Ch.11 shows the complete reality (all simultaneously). The vibhūti catalogue was the finger pointing at the moon; V11.6's vision is looking at the moon directly.
Behold the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Aśvins, and the Maruts; behold, O Bhārata, many wonders never seen before.
A modern analogy
This verse's adṛṣṭapūrva (never seen before) parallels the first time James Webb Space Telescope images were released: humans had seen individual galaxies, nebulae, and stars before. But seeing ALL of them simultaneously at unprecedented resolution and depth — thousands of galaxies in a single image — was genuinely adṛṣṭapūrva. The cosmic form is to the divine's individual expressions what the deep field image is to individual astronomical objects: all of it at once, at full resolution, gathered into one field of vision.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's adṛṣṭapūrva (never seen before) is not claiming that the Vedic deities are new inventions. The Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aśvins, and Maruts are well-known in Vedic tradition. What is NEW is seeing ALL of them simultaneously within ONE divine form — this gathering of all divine diversity into one simultaneous vision is what has never been experienced before. Not the deities themselves, but their simultaneous unity within the cosmic form.
Take with you
- This verse's paśya (BEHOLD) + adṛṣṭapūrva (never seen before): most people look at the world through habits of perception — seeing what they expect to see. The practice: choose one ordinary aspect of your life and look at it as if for the first time — adṛṣṭapūrva mode. Your morning cup of tea, a familiar face, the texture of a wall. What appears when you approach it with genuine first-sight?
- This verse's divine taxonomy (Ādityas/Vasus/Rudras/Aśvins/Maruts) as a diversity-framework: the cosmic form contains ALL categories of divine expression simultaneously — solar (Ādityas), elemental (Vasus), transformative/destructive (Rudras), healing (Aśvins), dynamic (Maruts). In your own work or community: identify the equivalent of these five categories — who embodies solar/illuminating energy? Who is elemental/grounding? Who is transformative? Who is healing? Who is dynamic? The teaching: the full community needs all five types.
- This verse as the bridge from the previous chapter's catalogue of divine glories to this one's vision: after studying the divine manifestations one category at a time, this verse invites the synthesis: I see all of them simultaneously. Practice: briefly bring to mind the many divine glories named in the prior chapter. Let them all be present simultaneously in your awareness — not sequentially but all at once. This simultaneous holding is the vision practice of this verse.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin Ashvins, and the Maruts; behold, O descendant of Bharata, many wonders never seen before. [4]
Behold the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aswins, and the Maruts, see things wonderful never seen before, O son of Bharata. [6]
See! in this face of mine, / Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aswins, and Maruts; see / Wonders unnumbered, Indian Prince! revealed to none save thee. [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu; among lights the radiant sun; among Maruts, Marīci; among stars, the moon.
Among Rudras I am Śaṃkara, among Yakṣas Kubera, among Vasus Pāvaka — and of mountains, Meru.
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 6 of 55 · back to Chapter 11