एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर | द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम ||३||
evam etad yathāttha tvam ātmānaṃ parameśvara | draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśvaraṃ puruṣottama || 3 ||
Your words are true as declared; yet I yearn to behold Your Īśvara-form — the Cosmic Ruler in all power.
Word by word (3)
- evam etat yathā āttha tvam ātmānaṃ parameśvara
- — So it is, O Supreme Lord, just as You have declared Yourself to be · evam = so, thus (affirmative adverb — 'so it is, just as'). etat = this (demonstrative — 'this [declaration]'). yathā = just as, in the manner that (relative adverb — 'in the manner which'). āttha = you have spoken, you have declared (perfect of √ah = to say; āttha = 'you have said, you have declared'; an archaic perfect form). tvam = you (nominative). ātmānaṃ = yourself (reflexive accusative — 'yourself, your own nature'). parameśvara = O Supreme Lord (paramaḥ = supreme; īśvara = lord, ruler — from √īś = to rule; parameśvara = 'Supreme Ruler/Lord'). 'So it is, O Supreme Lord, just as You have declared Your own nature to be.' This opening of V11.3 performs the classic Indian philosophical gesture of evam etat ('so it is, confirmed') — first acknowledging the received teaching as true before making a new request. Arjuna does not doubt or challenge Krishna's declarations. He accepts them (evam etat = 'just as You said'). Then he asks for direct experiential confirmation.
- draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśvaraṃ puruṣottama
- — I desire to see Your Aiśvara-form (Ruler-form), O Puruṣottama · draṣṭum = to see (infinitive of √dṛś = to see; draṣṭum = 'to see, to behold'); this is the operative word of V11.3-V11.4 and the entire Ch.11 request: draṣṭum (to see/behold) = not to hear more, not to understand more intellectually, but to DIRECTLY SEE. icchāmi = I desire (first person present of √iṣ = to desire, to wish; icchāmi = 'I desire, I want'). te = Your (genitive of tvaṃ). rūpam = form (rūpa = 'form, appearance, shape, beauty' — from √rūp = to form; rūpam = 'the form/shape/appearance'). aiśvaraṃ = of the Ruler/Lord, of the Īśvara (aiśvara = 'relating to Īśvara = the Lord/Ruler' — from īśvara = 'the Lord' + -a suffix; aiśvara = 'of the Lord, the Lord's, the Ruler's'; SW commentary: 'as possessed of omnipotence, omnipresence, infinite wisdom, strength, virtue, and splendour'). puruṣottama = O Supreme Person (puruṣa = person, being; uttama = highest, best; puruṣottama = 'the highest Person, the Supreme Being'; Ch.15 V15.18 will give the full puruṣottama teaching). 'I desire to see Your Aiśvara-form, O Supreme Person.' The Aiśvara-rūpa (the Ruler's form) = the divine in its full universal sovereignty — omnipotent, omnipresent, all-pervading. This is different from Krishna's human form (which Arjuna has been conversing with) — the Aiśvara-rūpa is the form of the divine as the Ruler of all creation.
- [request structure note]
- — V11.3 as the pivot from reception to request · V11.3 performs the Gita's most significant pivot: from the twelve chapters (V2-V11.2) of teaching-reception to the direct vision request that will produce Ch.11's cosmic form revelation. Structurally: V11.1 (moha gone) → V11.2 (received in full) → V11.3 (I want to SEE) → V11.4 (if You deem it possible, show me). The request is extraordinary in its boldness: Arjuna is asking to see the divine's complete cosmic form — the form that no being has ever seen before (V11.6: 'things wonderful never seen before'). The śrutau (heard) of V11.2 has prepared the ground; now draṣṭum icchāmi (I desire to see) opens the new chapter of direct experiential encounter.
V11.3: evam etat yathāttha (so it is, just as You declared — Arjuna affirms the truth of Krishna's self-declaration without doubt) + draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśvaram (I desire to SEE Your Aiśvara-form — the form of the divine as Ruler of all creation; not hear more but directly see) + puruṣottama (epithet: Supreme Person). V11.3 is the pivot: from the twelve chapters of śravaṇa (hearing) to the request for direct darśana (vision). The Aiśvara-rūpa that Arjuna requests = the form of the divine in its complete cosmic sovereignty — omnipotent, omnipresent, all-pervading. SW commentary: 'as possessed of omnipotence, omnipresence, infinite wisdom, strength, virtue, and splendour.'
A modern analogy
V11.3's evam etat...draṣṭum icchāmi (I accept it as true...and I want to see it directly) parallels the difference between accepting the scientific description of a solar eclipse and actually standing in the path of totality to experience it directly. You may completely accept the description as scientifically accurate (evam etat) AND simultaneously desire to see it directly (draṣṭum icchāmi). The direct seeing does not validate or invalidate the scientific description — it is simply a different and more complete kind of knowing.
What it does NOT mean
V11.3's draṣṭum icchāmi (I desire to see) is not an expression of doubt — Arjuna is not saying 'I don't believe You unless I see it.' The evam etat (so it is — affirmation) precedes the request: he already accepts the teaching as true. The draṣṭum is a desire for direct experience BEYOND intellectual acceptance — not replacing the intellectual reception but going deeper. The distinction between accepting as true (evam etat) and directly seeing (draṣṭum icchāmi) is the core pedagogical distinction of V11.3.
Take with you
- V11.3's evam etat practice: before making a request for direct experience, first explicitly affirm what you've already received. 'So it is, just as you've taught — I accept this intellectually. AND I now desire to experience it directly.' The affirmation-before-request honors the teaching relationship. V11.3: Arjuna doesn't skip to the request; he first confirms receipt.
- V11.3's Aiśvara-rūpa as a scope-expansion request: Arjuna has been seeing only Krishna's human form (mānuṣa-rūpa — the ordinary personal form of the teacher-friend-guide). The Aiśvara-rūpa = the same divine energy seen in its universal, all-pervading, all-governing scope. Practice V11.3: in any relationship where you see only the personal form of the other person, ask: 'What is the larger context, the wider scope, the Aiśvara-dimension of this person?' What aspects of their full reality are you not currently perceiving?
- V11.3's puruṣottama (Supreme Person) as a relational epithet: Arjuna escalates his mode of address (V11.2's lotus-eyed beauty → V11.3's Supreme Lord + Supreme Person) as his request escalates. V11.3 practice: notice how you address people when making significant requests. Does your mode of address honor the fullness of who they are? Puruṣottama — acknowledging someone as the highest expression of personhood in their domain — transforms the relational register of any request.
V11.3 is the structural pivot of the entire Bhagavad Gita. Up to this point (V2-V11.2), the Gita has been a discourse: Krishna speaks, Arjuna hears, asks, and hears more. V11.3's draṣṭum icchāmi (I desire to SEE) marks the transition from the discourse mode to the vision mode — from śravaṇa (hearing) to darśana (direct vision). Evam etat yathāttha tvam ātmānaṃ: The philosophical gesture of evam etat (so it is, as You have declared Your own nature) is the Gita's most important acknowledgment of teaching received and accepted. Arjuna is not asking for evidence — he accepts the teaching as true. He is asking for the next order of knowing. Draṣṭum icchāmi: The specific verb draṣṭum (to see, from √dṛś = to see) is philosophically loaded. In the Indian epistemological tradition, pratyakṣa (direct perception) is the highest pramāṇa (means of valid knowledge) — higher than anumāna (inference) and śabda (testimony). V11.3's draṣṭum request is essentially: 'I have received the testimony (śabda-pramāṇa) of Your teaching through Ch.2-Ch.10; I now desire pratyakṣa-pramāṇa — direct perceptual confirmation.' The cosmic vision that follows is Ch.11's pratyakṣa-pramāṇa of what the discourse-teachings pointed to. Aiśvara-rūpa: The form of the Īśvara (the Ruler/Lord of all) is distinct from the sāguna-rūpa (form with qualities, like Krishna's personal human-form) and the nirguna (formless Brahman). The Aiśvara-rūpa = the divine in full cosmic sovereignty — the form in which the divine IS the universe, governs it, pervades it, and yet transcends it. V11.5-V11.55 will describe what this rūpa actually looks like.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśvaram — the request for direct vision of the Aiśvara-rūpa is the equivalent of requesting the nididhyāsana phase in the Advaita path. Śravaṇa (hearing, Ch.2-Ch.10) has been completed. Manana (pondering — Ch.10's V10.19-V10.42 vibhūti contemplation) has occurred. Now draṣṭum icchāmi = the request for nididhyāsana: sustained direct meditation on the truth heard and pondered. The cosmic vision is the result of this nididhyāsana — not a mere visual spectacle but a direct encounter with what the teaching pointed to.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti, V11.3's draṣṭum icchāmi (I desire to see) is the bhakta's deepest longing: not just to know about the beloved-divine but to directly SEE, to directly encounter. The bhakti tradition's viraha (longing in separation) and darśana (vision in encounter) theology is embedded in V11.3. Arjuna's icchāmi (desire) is the bhakta's longing made explicit: having received everything through discourse, the devotee's heart still longs for direct face-to-face vision of the beloved-divine. V11.3 is the moment when bhakta-longing becomes a formal request.
Karma-Yoga lens
V11.3 for karma yoga: the karma yogi who has understood the cosmic framework (Ch.2-Ch.10) now desires to SEE it directly — to act from a place of direct vision rather than from intellectual understanding of the principle. V11.3's request: 'Show me the Aiśvara-form so that my actions arise from direct seeing rather than from belief.' The karma yogi's motivation is not vision-for-its-own-sake but vision-for-the-sake-of-clearer-action. After V11's cosmic vision, Arjuna's V18.73 says 'I will act' — the vision enables the action.
Modern parallels
V11.3's evam etat...draṣṭum icchāmi parallels the scientific demand for empirical verification: a hypothesis can be intellectually accepted as plausible (evam etat — so it may be) while still requiring experimental confirmation (draṣṭum icchāmi — I want to see/measure it directly). V11.3's Arjuna is not a skeptic — he's a complete believer who also wants the direct empirical experience. This parallels the scientist who accepts a theory and then designs the experiment that will produce direct evidence.
Practice
V11.3 longing-to-see meditation (10 minutes): sit quietly. Bring to mind a teaching or truth you hold intellectually but have not directly experienced. Feel the quality of the intellectual reception — cool, conceptual, understood. Then allow yourself to feel the longing (icchāmi = desire) for direct encounter with this truth. Don't suppress the longing or immediately try to resolve it. Let the draṣṭum icchāmi (desire to see directly) be present as a felt quality in the body. Rest in this quality of longing for 7 minutes. Then close with: 'I accept the teaching as true (evam etat). I also long to see it directly. I am open to direct encounter.' This is V11.3 as a preparatory meditation.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Thy Ishvara-Form — as possessed of omnipotence, omnipresence, infinite wisdom, strength, virtue, and splendour. [1]
So it is, O Supreme Lord! as Thou hast declared Thyself. (Still) I desire to see Thy Ishvara-Form, O Supreme Purusha. [4]
It is even as thou hast described thyself, O mighty Lord; I now desire to see thy divine form, O sovereign Lord. [6]
Fain would I see, / As thou Thyself declar'st it, Sovereign Lord! / The likeness of that glory of Thy Form / Wholly revealed. [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Through My own yogic power I showed you this radiant, infinite, primeval cosmic form — which no one else has ever seen!
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
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.