anekavaktranayanamanekaadbhutadarshanam |
anekadivyaabharanam divyaanekodyataayudham || 10 ||
With several faces and eyes, showing several marvellous sights, wearing several divine ornaments, armed with several divine uplifted weapons.
aneka : several
vaktra : faces
nayanam : eyes
adbhutadarshanam : marvellous sights
divya : divine
aabharanam : ornaments
udyata : uplifted
aayudham : weapons
Shri Krishna has a unique style of communication. Like an artist, he first sketches out a broad outline of what he wants to cover, and then step by step fills in the colour to create a grand painting. We see this style in the way he reveals the Vishwa roopa, the cosmic form to Arjuna. First, he reveals the scale and the vastness of the cosmic form by repeatedly using the word "aneka". “Aneka” means several but it is used in the sense of “infinite” here. We can only imagine Arjuna’s state of mind when his friend transformed into this colossal being with infinite number of faces and eyes.
When someone is confronted with such a mighty spectacle, they want to take it all in. The Sistine chapel in the Vatican is an example of an artwork where most people are so overwhelmed with all the details and the complexity that they don’t know where to look. The cosmic form surrounded and engulfed Arjuna to such an extent, there were so many sights to see, that he did not know where should he look and where shouldn’t he look.
Now, as a hint of things to come, Shri Krishna displays both aspects of his personality. On one hand he is decked in fine jewellery and ornaments, creating a sight that is pleasing to the eye. But on the other hand his weapons show another aspect to his personality, that he has the potential to use destructive force if necessary.
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