वक्तुमर्हस्यशेषेण दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः | याभिर्विभूतिभिर्लोकानिमांस्त्वं व्याप्य तिष्ठसि ||१६||
vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ | yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṃs tvaṃ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi || 16 ||
Declare fully Your divine attributes by which You pervade and sustain all these worlds, O Bhagavān.
Word by word (3)
- vaktum arhasi aśeṣeṇa divyāḥ hi ātma-vibhūtayaḥ
- — You should indeed speak without reserve of Your divine vibhūtis · vaktum = to speak, to tell (infinitive of √vac = to speak; vaktum = 'to say, to tell, to speak'). arhasi = You should, You are fit (from √arh = to deserve, to be fit; arhasi = second person singular = 'You are fit to, You should'). aśeṣeṇa = without reserve, entirely, completely (a = not; śeṣa = remainder; aśeṣa = having no remainder, complete; aśeṣeṇa = adverb instrumental = 'without any remainder, fully, without withholding anything'). divyāḥ = divine (plural feminine, agreeing with vibhūtayaḥ). hi = indeed, for, because (emphatic/explanatory particle). ātma-vibhūtayaḥ = Your divine manifestations (ātman = Self, here = Your own; vibhūti = divine excellence/manifestation — from vi + √bhū; vibhūtayaḥ = plural 'manifestations, excellences, glories'; ātma-vibhūtayaḥ = 'Your own divine manifestations'). vaktum arhasi aśeṣeṇa = 'You should speak fully/without reserve' — the request is for COMPLETE revelation, nothing withheld. The SW commentary note: 'Since none else can do so.' This is why V16's request is addressed to the divine alone: no one else CAN speak the divine vibhūtis authoritatively (echoing V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha — only You know Yourself).
- yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṃs tvaṃ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi
- — By which vibhūtis You pervade and stand in all these worlds · yābhir = by which (instrumental relative pronoun, feminine plural — 'by which things, by means of which'). vibhūtibhiḥ = by vibhūtis (instrumental plural of vibhūti — 'by means of the divine manifestations, through the vibhūtis'). lokān = worlds (accusative plural of loka = world; lokān = 'these worlds'). imāṃs = these (accusative plural — 'these here'). tvaṃ = You. vyāpya = having pervaded (past participle/gerund of vi + √āp = to pervade; vyāpya = 'having pervaded, filling, pervading'). tiṣṭhasi = You stand, You exist (√sthā = to stand; tiṣṭhasi = second person singular = 'You stand, You are, You exist'). vyāpya tiṣṭhasi = 'having pervaded [the worlds], You stand [in them]' — the pervasive-immanent presence described. The vibhūtis are the MEANS by which the divine pervades the worlds: each vibhūti is a point of divine concentration in a domain of existence. Asking for the vibhūtis is asking: 'Where specifically can I encounter You in this world? What are the points of concentrated divine presence?' This makes V16's request deeply practical: not theological curiosity but a map for encountering the divine in the world.
- ātma-vibhūtayaḥ — V16 introduces the term ātma-vibhūti (divine's own manifestations) grounding Arjuna's request
- — V16's ātma-vibhūtayaḥ (Your own divine manifestations) is the formal request term that opens the vibhūti catalogue — Arjuna is asking for a map of where the divine is most concentrated in the world · V16 is structurally the REQUEST verse that opens the vibhūti catalogue (V20-V42). The three Arjuna verses (V16, V17, V18) each ask a different aspect: V16 = speak in full (aśeṣeṇa — ask for completeness); V17 = how to meditate (cathaṃ vidyām — practical application); V18 = tell me again (bhūyaḥ kathaya — the joy of hearing). Together they give three motivations for asking: (1) completeness (nothing withheld); (2) practical application (meditation); (3) devotional delight (never satiated). These three motivations correspond to the three human needs the vibhūti teaching addresses: (1) intellectual: complete knowledge of divine manifestations; (2) practical: tools for meditation/contemplation; (3) devotional: the pure joy of hearing about the divine. V16's aśeṣeṇa (without reserve, completely) also echoes V9.1's guhyatama (most secret) — what was once the most secret teaching (Ch.9) is now being asked to be spoken aśeṣeṇa (completely). The progression: secret → partially revealed (V1-V11) → fully revealed on request (V16 request → V20-V42 catalogue).
V16 is Arjuna's first of three questions (V16-V18), formally requesting the vibhūti catalogue. vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa (speak without reserve, completely) + divyā ātma-vibhūtayaḥ (Your own divine manifestations) + yābhir ... lokān vyāpya tiṣṭhasi (by which You pervade all these worlds). The request: 'Tell me specifically WHERE You are concentrated in this world — so I can encounter You there.' The SW commentary note: 'Since none else can do so' — only the divine can reveal its own vibhūtis (V15's svayam vettha).
A modern analogy
A traveler who knows a city-guide is present asks: 'Please tell me completely all the places where this city is most alive — where the best music is, where the most beauty is, where the deepest history is.' V16 is this request to the divine city-guide: 'Tell me all the places in this world-city where You are most concentrated, so I can go there (in my attention and meditation) and find You.'
What it does NOT mean
V16 is not asking for theological facts for intellectual collection. The vibhūtis are tools for encountering the divine. Asking where the divine pervades the world (vyāpya tiṣṭhasi) is a practical question: 'Give me the map so I can find You.' The entire vibhūti catalogue (V20-V42) that follows is best understood as a meditation map, not an encyclopedia entry.
Take with you
- V16's vaktum arhasi aśeṣeṇa (speak without reserve) as a prayer posture: when you approach the divine (in prayer, meditation, study), ask explicitly for complete revelation — not just what you already know, not just what confirms your current beliefs, but aśeṣeṇa (without remainder). This posture of open asking invites more than closed confirmation-seeking.
- V16's three-part request (V16+V17+V18) as a model for devotional asking: before asking for specific guidance, ensure you have: (1) asked for completeness (V16); (2) asked for practical application (V17 — how to use what you learn); (3) expressed devotional delight in the answer (V18 — the love of learning from the divine). These three together create the right asking-posture.
- The vibhūti catalogue as a practical meditation resource: when you read V20-V42 ahead, treat each vibhūti as Arjuna's V16 request being answered: 'This is WHERE I am concentrated; meditate here to find Me.' Each vibhūti is a doorway into the divine presence.
V10.16 is the formal opening of the vibhūti request, serving as the first of three distinct motivations Arjuna expresses for wanting the vibhūti teaching: 1. V16: aśeṣeṇa (completeness) — the intellectual/theological motivation: speak everything, hold nothing back 2. V17: kathaṃ vidyām (how shall I know) — the practical motivation: give me tools for meditation and contemplation 3. V18: tṛptir nāsti (never satiated) — the devotional motivation: I love hearing about You; more please The SW commentary's note on V16 ('Since none else can do so') connects to V15's svayam evātmanātmānaṃ vettha: only the divine can speak its own vibhūtis without reserve because only the divine knows them completely. The human sage can transmit what was revealed; only the divine can reveal in full. The phrase vyāpya tiṣṭhasi (pervading, You stand) is the Gita's immanence-statement: the divine stands (tiṣṭhasi — not 'hidden' or 'withdrawn') in the worlds by pervading (vyāpya) them through the vibhūtis. Each vibhūti is a point of pervasive-standing — a location where the divine's presence is most concentrated and accessible to human recognition. The vibhūti catalogue of V20-V42 is thus the cartography of divine immanence.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: ātma-vibhūtayaḥ = the manifestations of the divine Self (ātman) — the specific forms in which the one ātman most concentratedly expresses in the world of name and form. For Advaita, the vibhūtis are not the divine's ONLY presence (the divine is omnipresent) but the locations of concentrated self-expression. Meditating on the vibhūtis leads the mind toward the underlying non-dual awareness that sustains all of them.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti, V16 is the model of the devotee's asking: Arjuna is not passive before the divine — he asks actively and with precision (aśeṣeṇa = completely). True bhakti is not passive surrender but engaged asking, listening, and responding. The vibhūtis to come (V20-V42) are the divine's loving answer to this engaged asking — the Beloved describes itself in concrete terms so the devotee can find and recognize it everywhere.
Karma-Yoga lens
V16 for karma yoga: the vibhūtis (asked in V16) will include the divine's presence in excellence of action, in great human achievements, in the forces of nature that give context to human work. Knowing where the divine is concentrated helps the karma yogi recognize that their own excellent action, when fully expressed, is itself a vibhūti — a point of the divine's concentrated expression through human agency.
Modern parallels
V16's vyāpya tiṣṭhasi (pervading, standing) parallels physicist David Bohm's concept of the 'implicate order' — the idea that underlying the explicit order of observable things is an implicate structure that expresses locally in specific forms. The vibhūtis are the explicate expressions of the divine's implicate presence. V16 asks for the map of where the explicate expressions of the implicate order are most intense.
Practice
V16 as an opening prayer: before meditation each morning, hold V16's request — 'O Bhagavān, speak to me aśeṣeṇa (without reserve) of Your vibhūtis — where You are concentrated in my world today.' Then sit in open attention. What arises? Where do you notice concentration of presence, excellence, or beauty in your upcoming day? That is V16 receiving an answer.
Public-domain translations (2) compare all →
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am the ātman, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the heart of all beings — their beginning, middle, and end.
You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Puruṣottama, Maker of beings, God of Gods — tell me Your vibhūtis.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.