Continuing the description, Arjuna says that among the hosts of being who gaze on at the Mysterious Form, there are Deities who are all the Lords of the phenomena, worshipped and revered by the generations of the Vedic period. Even they, looking at the Universal Form, stand struck with wonder and astonishment.

The terms used here have all been described during our discourses on the previous chapters. The Spirits of Destruction (Rudras), the Sun (Adityas), the Lord of the seasons (Vasus), the Spirits of the Sky (Sadhyas), the Lesser Lords (Vishwe-devas), the Horsemen Twins (Ashwins), the Storm-Lords (Maruts), the Heat-drinkers (Ushmapas), the hosts of Heavenly Musicians (Gandharvas), Yakshas, Asuras and Siddhas — these constitute the crowd that gaze at the terrible form of the Lord, “ALL QUITE ASTOUNDED.”

This stanza may not be quite appealing to us who are today strangers to the conceptions which these terms represent. But Arjuna was a student of the Vedas, and was the child of the age; he was naturally well versed in these Vedic thoughts and therefore the vocabulary of Arjuna could not have been otherwise. We have only to watch for, and understand, the general effect produced upon the Pandava warrior by the Vision of the Totality and the different reactions created in different types of minds. Each, according to its own intrinsic capacity, comprehended and appreciated the Vision of the entire Universe, so crystallised into the definite shapeless shape.

GIVING MORE AND MORE SURE STROKES, ARJUNA IS BRINGING OUT HIS EXPERIENCES TO A PRECISE CONCEPTION UPON THE CANVAS OF HIS LISTENER’S MIND:

Ye, those who are; the rudra-adityah, Rudras and Adityas; vasavah, the Vasus; and sadhyah, the Sadhyas-the groups of Rudras and other gods; the gods visve, Visve-devas; and asvinau, the two Asvins; marutah, the Maruts; and usmapah, the Usmapas, (a class of) manes; and gandharva-yaksa-asura-siddha-sanghah, hosts of Gandharvas-viz Haha, Huhu and others-, Yaksas-viz Kubera and others-, demons-Virocana and others-, and Siddhas-Kapila and others; sarve eva, all of those very ones; viksante, gaze; tva, (i.e.) tvam, at You; vismitah eva, being indeed struck with wonder. For,