Bhagavad Gita 18.77
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 77 of 78
तच् च संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य रूपम् अत्यद्भुतं हरेः । विस्मयो मे महान् राजन् हृष्यामि च मुहुर् मुहुः ॥
tac ca saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya rūpam atyadbhutaṃ hareḥ | vismayo me mahān rājan hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ ||
Remembering that most wondrous Form of Hari again and again — great wonder fills me, O King; I rejoice again and again.
Word by word (3)
- tac ca saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya rūpam atyadbhutaṃ hareḥ
- — tat ca = and that (moving to the second object of remembrance: not the dialogue but the Form); saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya = remembering and remembering (same doubled verb as V76); rūpam = form/the Viśvarūpa (the cosmic Form revealed in Ch.11 — the central theophany of the Gita); atyadbhutam = supremely marvellous (ati = beyond + adbhuta = wonderful; superlative wonder — beyond the already-adbhuta dialogue of V76); hareḥ = of Hari (Hari = the one who removes sins/suffering; one of Viṣṇu/Krishna's most sacred names)
- vismayo me mahān rājan
- — vismayas = wonder/amazement (from vi + sma = away + stop = astonishment at something that arrests all movement; a deeper, stiller quality than hṛṣyāmi); me = my; mahān = great (mahat = the great, enormous); rājan = O King — Sañjaya differentiates two responses: the dialogue → hṛṣyāmi (active joy); the Viśvarūpa → vismaya mahān (deep wonder/awe that stills)
- hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ
- — hṛṣyāmi = I rejoice/am thrilled (same as V76 — the two responses compound: wonder AND joy; the Viśvarūpa produces both the stilling vismaya and the soaring hṛṣyāmi); ca = and; muhur muhuḥ = again and again. V77 closes the Sañjaya-witness frame with the two objects of remembrance: (1) the dialogue (saṃvāda, puṇya — V76); (2) the Form (rūpa, atyadbhuta — V77). Every remembrance of either produces inexhaustible joy.
And as I recall and recall that most supremely wonderful Form of Hari (the Viśvarūpa), great is my wonder, O King — and I rejoice again and again.
A modern analogy
This verse and the one before it together describe two objects of spiritual memory: the teaching (the holy dialogue) and the cosmic vision (the most wondrous Form of Hari). These correspond to jñána and darśana — wisdom through words and wisdom through direct sight. Both produce joy; the cosmic Form additionally produces vismaya (awe that quiets the mind). Sañjaya has been transformed by both — he is not just a reporter but a devotee changed forever by what he witnessed.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
And as I remember and remember that most wonderful Form of Hari, great is my wonder, O King; and I rejoice again and again. [1]
And as I remember and remember that most wonderful Form of Hari, great is my wonder, O King, and I rejoice again and again. [4]
And as I recall, recall that most wonderful form of Hari, great is my amazement, O king, and I feel delighted again and again. [9]
And recalling also that most wonderful form of Hari, great is my wonder, O King, and I feel delighted again and again. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Enjoy the gifts of existence without giving back — the Gita calls that theft. Participate, don't just consume.
Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy — these varied states arise from Me alone.
Mind on Me, life surrendered to Me — awakening each other, always speaking of Me — they are content and rejoice.
Sky-touching, blazing, many-hued, mouth wide open, eyes aflame — seeing You, O Viṣṇu, I find no courage and no peace!
Tusked mouths blazing like fires of Time — losing all direction, all peace; be gracious, O Deveśa, O World's Abode!
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
Verse 77 of 78 · back to Chapter 18