Arjuna says: 'I desire to see your divine form, if you think I am fit enough to behold it.' Krishna grants him divine eyes and reveals his divine form. Like the splendour of a thousand suns, the splendour of the mighty one was seen by Arjuna. He beheld the entire universe with all its myriad manifestations all gathered together in one. Arjuna salutes with pressed palms and says, "Lord of lords! In thy body I see all the gods and all the varied hosts of beings as well. I see brahma and all the rishis. You are infinite in form. There is no beginning or middle or end. You are a glowing mass of light. You are the imperishable, the supreme that has to be realised. You are the home for the entire universe. You are the guardian of the entire law. You are the primal being. Your eyes are the sun and moon, and your face is glowing with the radiance of fire, this universe is being devoured by the fire that is you. By the thee are filled the inter-spaces of heaven and earth and the sky. Looking at you the world trembles and so do I'. ......
Vishwaroopa darshana being dealt with just a couple of words in vachana bharata is not surprising. The vachana focuses on the story. While the concept of Atma is implicit, awareness of the world around you is intrinsic. We have a 'darshana' every moment of our life. What we make out of it is dependent on so many factors. While the sky is more or less the same, earth below has changed dramatically since Mahabharata times.
We see more of the universe now thanks to science and technology. We even have the power, thanks to the nuclear bombs, to wreak havoc on earth, equaling the devastation wrought by the angry gods. What the rishis could imagine or see with their special vision and intelligence is now partly available to many, thanks to the pictures from the hubble telescope or a highly powerful microscope. It is not that the scientist can explain everything about the universe with the certitude of a rishi, but we know that it is larger than we ever thought, more complex and certainly more confusing! At the same time, there are multitudes of us, who are still limited to the vision of the vishwaroopa darshan that sage vysasa described and are impressed and content. A lot more have no clue to either of the versions, either of the rishis or of the technology !
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| Vishwaroopa that Arjuna was shown by Krishna |
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| Today we know the age of the Universe to a much higher precision than before Hubble: around 13.7 billion years. |
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| head of a human flea |
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