नान्तोऽस्ति मम दिव्यानां विभूतीनां परन्तप | एष तूद्देशतः प्रोक्तो विभूतेर्विस्तरो मया ||४०||
nānto'sti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ parantapa | eṣa tūddeśataḥ prokto vibhūter vistaro mayā || 40 ||
There is no end to My divine vibhūtis, O scorcher of foes — what I have told you is but a sample of My infinite extent.
Word by word (3)
- na antaḥ asti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ parantapa
- — There is no end to My divine vibhūtis, O scorcher of foes · na antaḥ asti = there is no end (na = not; antaḥ = end, limit — from anta = end; na antaḥ asti = 'there is no end'). mama = My (genitive of aham = I). divyānāṃ = divine (genitive plural of divya = divine, celestial — from divi = in the sky/heaven; divya = 'of the divine, celestial, wonderful'). vibhūtīnāṃ = of the vibhūtis (genitive plural of vibhūti = divine manifestation/power). parantapa = O scorcher of foes (para = others/foes + tapa = burning; parantapa = 'the one who burns/scorches foes'; an epithet of Arjuna). V10.19 opened the vibhūti section with: na asto vistarasya me (there is no end to My extent). V10.40 closes the catalogue with the same admission: 'There is no end to My divine vibhūtis, O Arjuna.' The frame closes: what was promised in V10.19 (a sample by prādhānyataḥ of the infinite) is acknowledged in V10.40 (the sample is complete; the infinite remains beyond any enumeration).
- eṣaḥ tu uddeśataḥ proktaḥ vibhūteḥ vistaraḥ mayā
- — But this has been declared by Me as a summary/indication (not exhaustively) · eṣaḥ = this (proximal demonstrative — 'this [vibhūti teaching] here'). tu = but, however (tu = contrastive particle). uddeśataḥ = by way of indication/example (uddeśa = 'mention, indication, example, a pointing-out' — from ud = up/forth + deśa = pointing; uddeśataḥ = 'by way of pointing at, indicatively, not exhaustively'); SW: 'brief statement by Me.' proktaḥ = declared, spoken (past passive participle of pra + √vac = to speak; proktaḥ = 'declared, stated'). vibhūteḥ = of the vibhūtis (genitive singular of vibhūti). vistaraḥ = the detailed account/extension (vistara = 'breadth, extension, detail' — from vi + √star = to spread out; vistara = the spreading out, the detailed elaboration). mayā = by Me (instrumental). The entire vibhūti catalogue (V10.20-V10.38) is now declared to be uddeśataḥ — an INDICATION, not an exhaustive listing. The 20+ vibhūtis were not the complete list (which would be infinite) but examples chosen by prādhānyataḥ (V10.19) to train the recognition capacity. V10.40 names this explicitly: the teaching was indicative, not comprehensive. What follows (V10.41-V10.42) gives the comprehensive principle that the indicative examples were training toward.
- [structural note]
- — V10.40 as the closing admission and bridge to V10.41-V10.42 · V10.40 performs two functions: (1) Closing admission: the catalogue (V10.20-V10.38) is acknowledged as incomplete — 'there is no end to My vibhūtis.' This releases the reader from the attempt to memorize or enumerate all vibhūtis. (2) Bridge: by naming the catalogue as uddeśataḥ (indicative/by example), V10.40 prepares the way for V10.41's synthesis principle — the generalization that the examples were training toward. The movement: examples (V10.20-V10.38) → admission of incompleteness (V10.40) → synthesis principle (V10.41) → final compression (V10.42). V10.40 is the necessary acknowledgment that enables V10.41's generalization.
V40: na antaḥ asti divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ (there is no end to the divine vibhūtis — the catalogue of V10.20-V10.38 is explicitly acknowledged as incomplete) + eṣaḥ uddeśataḥ proktaḥ (what has been given is uddeśataḥ — an indication, an example, not an exhaustive list). V10.40 mirrors V10.19's opening promise: na asto vistarasya me (no end to My extent) closes as na antaḥ asti vibhūtīnāṃ (no end to My vibhūtis). The catalogue was a sample; the infinite remains. V10.41-V10.42 will give the comprehensive principle that the sample was training toward.
A modern analogy
V10.40's uddeśataḥ proktaḥ (declared by way of indication, not exhaustively) parallels the scientific method's use of representative examples: when teaching a scientific principle, a teacher gives a limited number of examples chosen for their clarity and concentration of the principle — not because those are the only cases but because those examples are the best training ground for the student's pattern-recognition. After the examples, the student applies the principle to new cases. V10.19-V10.40 is the example-set; V10.41 is the principle.
What it does NOT mean
V10.40's admission that the catalogue is incomplete ('no end to My vibhūtis') is not a failure of the teaching. It is the teaching's liberation: the 20+ named vibhūtis were not meant to exhaust the divine's expressions but to TRAIN THE RECOGNITION. Like a teacher who gives 20 examples of a grammatical rule, not to say there are only 20 cases but to develop pattern-recognition — after 20 examples, you can recognize the pattern in any new case. V10.41 will state the pattern. V10.40 releases the student from memorization-anxiety: 'You don't need to enumerate all vibhūtis. The pattern is what matters.'
Take with you
- V10.40's liberation from enumeration anxiety: if you've been feeling the pressure to memorize all the vibhūtis in the catalogue, V10.40 explicitly releases you: 'there is no end to My vibhūtis.' The point was never memorization — it was recognition training. The practice: can you recognize the divine's concentration in something you encounter today that was NOT named in the catalogue? That recognition is what the catalogue was training.
- V10.40's uddeśataḥ (indicative teaching) as a model for your own communication: when teaching or explaining something complex, be explicit when you are giving examples rather than complete enumeration. 'Here are three examples that concentrate the principle — not all cases, but the ones that best reveal the pattern.' This is the uddeśataḥ approach: examples chosen for their concentration of the essential quality, not for exhaustiveness. V10.40 models pedagogical honesty.
- V10.40's na antaḥ asti (no end) as an infinity-contemplation: spend 5 minutes contemplating the genuine infinity of the divine's vibhūtis. Every being on earth (millions of species × billions of individuals). Every element of every ecosystem. Every relationship, conversation, creative act, thought. Every moment of history. Every star in the galaxy. All of these are vibhūtis — the divine concentrated in specific expressions within the infinite. V10.40's 'no end' is not hyperbole. It is an accurate statement about infinite.
V10.40 performs a crucial structural function within the vibhūti teaching: The frame closes: V10.19 opened with 'na asto vistarasya me' (there is no end to My extent). V10.40 closes with 'nānto'sti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ' (there is no end to My divine vibhūtis). The catalogue was enclosed within two acknowledgments of infinity — it was always understood to be a sample, not a complete enumeration. Uddeśataḥ (by indication/example): this Sanskrit term is philosophically precise. Uddeśa = 'a pointing-out, an indication, an example that points to the principle.' The vibhūti catalogue was uddeśataḥ — a pointing, not a complete map. Like the Upaniṣadic teacher pointing to the aśvattha seed and saying 'tat tvam asi' — the seed is not the complete truth, but a pointing. V10.40 names this explicitly: the catalogue was a pointing. The pedagogical completion: by explicitly naming the teaching as indicative (uddeśataḥ), V10.40 releases the student from the impossible task of enumeration and prepares them for V10.41's synthesis principle. The movement: (1) examples to train recognition (V10.20-V10.38), (2) hinge to the absolute (V10.39), (3) admission of incompleteness (V10.40), (4) generalization principle (V10.41), (5) final compression (V10.42). V10.40 is the necessary transition from example to principle.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: nānto'sti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ (no end to My divine vibhūtis) = Brahman's infinite expressions are truly infinite — the vibhūti catalogue could not be completed even in infinite time. This is consistent with the Advaita view: Brahman (Absolute Consciousness) expresses itself in infinite forms; naming some forms (vibhūtis) by prādhānyataḥ is an act of grace — a sample to help finite minds recognize the infinite pattern. V10.40's uddeśataḥ is Shankaracharya's key: what has been given is a 'mithyā' (apparent) complete list — it was always understood as pointing.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti, V10.40's na antaḥ asti (no end) is the devotee's permanent invitation: the study of the divine's vibhūtis is inexhaustible. There is always more to discover, more to recognize, more to encounter of the divine's concentrated expressions. The bhakta never reaches the end of the divine's glory — this is not frustration but joy: bhakti is inexhaustible because its object (the divine's vibhūtis) is infinite. V10.40 grounds the bhakti tradition's endless hymns, stotras, and devotional practices: the singing of divine glory is necessarily incomplete — and that incompleteness is not failure but the nature of the divine's infinity.
Karma-Yoga lens
V10.40 for karma yoga: Tilak's reading — the karma yogi in the world encounters the infinite manifestations of the divine's vibhūtis in every domain of action. No action is in a domain where the divine's vibhūti is absent (V10.39: nothing without Me). V10.40's admission that the catalogue is incomplete is, for the karma yogi, an affirmation: every domain of work — from the most mundane to the most elevated — has its vibhūtis, its concentrated divine expressions. The karma yogi's work is in the company of the divine's vibhūtis, always.
Modern parallels
V10.40's uddeśataḥ proktaḥ (declared by way of indication) parallels the concept of 'ostensive definition' in analytic philosophy (Wittgenstein): the philosopher points to examples to teach the meaning of a word, recognizing that no finite list of examples can exhaust the concept. 'This is called red' (pointing to three red objects). After the examples, you can recognize red in any new case. V10.40's vibhūti catalogue is the Gita's ostensive definition of 'divine concentration': here are 20+ cases of it; now recognize it everywhere.
Practice
V10.40 infinity contemplation (10 minutes): sit quietly. Bring to mind the vibhūti catalogue you've studied. Then let all the specific examples dissolve into the single recognition: the divine's concentrated expressions are infinite — every being, every moment, every quality is potentially a concentrated expression of the divine. Rest in this infinite openness for 10 minutes. When a specific vibhūti image arises (Gaṅgā, Prahlāda, spring, silence), let it pass through this infinite field. The field is V10.40: no end, always more. This is the preparatory meditation for V10.41's practice.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
There is no end of My divine attributes, O scorcher of foes; but this is a brief statement by Me of the particulars of My divine attributes. [4]
My divine manifestations, O harasser of thy foes, are without end, the many which I have mentioned are by way of example. [6]
Nor tongue can tell, Arjuna! nor end of telling come / Of these My boundless glories, whereof I teach thee some [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I shall tell you My foremost divine manifestations, O best of Kurus — My nature's extent is without end.
Whatever being has excellence, prosperity, or power — know it as born from a fragment of My splendor.
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.