When the Prince addressed Krishna as the Resplendent (Deva), he is endorsing the comparison of the Lord to the light of thousand-Suns which was used earlier by Sanjaya. Enumerating the features recognised by him on the body of Krishna, Arjuna says, “IN THY BODY I SEE ALL THE DEVAS AND HOSTS OF ALL GRADES OF BEINGS.” This was already indicated by Sanjaya when he described the Universal Form as ‘WEARING NUMEROUS ROBES,’ ‘ADORNING ITSELF WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF DIVINE ORNAMENTS,’ ‘WEARING GARLANDS OF CELESTIAL BEAUTY,’ and bearing ‘AN ARSENAL OF WEAPONS IN ITS INNUMERABLE HANDS.’These descriptions show that in Krishna one could recognise not only the things of the world, but in the Virata-form of the Lord even the Devas are represented. The same adhidaiva-idea is very directly insisted upon by Arjuna in this stanza when he describes among the things that he saw in Krishna, the Creator, Brahmaji (Brahmaanam), the Annihilator, Shiva (Isham), and the Sustainer, Vishnu (Kamal-asana-stham); along with a host of ancient Seers!
AND CELESTIAL SERPENTS — In poetry, it is a technique, often very effective, employed by great poets wherein they suddenly step down from the sublime to the ridiculous or the grotesque, only to shock the readers and thereby tap out ofthem the degree of special attention which the theme demands. It is indicated here that from Brahmaji in the heavens, to the serpents in the holes of the earth, all are represented in the Lord’s Cosmic-Form. The microcosm (Vyashti) is the macrocosm (Samashti). And this is explained and realised by all great thinkers of the world. But nobody has ever
before tried to express this philosophical idea in the form of a vivid objective representation. Vyasa was the pioneer in this art and none has yet dared to follow him in this arduous task.
THE GRIPPING DETAILS THAT CAN UNNERVE EVEN THE MOST COURAGEOUS ARE GIVEN OUT NOW BY ARJUNA:
