मा ते व्यथा मा च विमूढभावो दृष्ट्वा रूपं घोरमीदृङ्ममेदम्। व्यपेतभीः प्रीतमनाः पुनस्त्वं तदेव मे रूपमिदं प्रपश्य ॥
mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍhabhāvo dṛṣṭvā rūpaṃ ghoramīdṛṅmamedam| vyapetabhīḥ prītamanāḥ punastvaṃ tadeva me rūpamidaṃ prapaśya ||
Be not afraid; let fear depart and your heart be glad — behold again THIS form of Mine, the familiar one!
Word by word (3)
- mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍha-bhāvo / dṛṣṭvā rūpaṃ ghoram īdṛṅ mamedam
- — Let there be no distress in you, no bewildered state — having seen this terrible form of Mine · Mā te vyathā = let there be no agitation/distress in you (mā = negative imperative = do not; te = in you, dative of tvam; vyathā = agitation, distress). Mā ca vimūḍha-bhāvaḥ = and let there not be a bewildered state (vimūḍha = bewildered, confused; from vi + mūḍha = thoroughly confused; bhāvaḥ = state). Dṛṣṭvā = having seen (gerund). Rūpaṃ ghorah = this terrible form (ghora = terrible, fierce; same root as the ghora-rūpa descriptions throughout Ch.11 = the fearsome/terrible aspect of the cosmic vision). Idam = this. Mamedam = this of Mine (combined: mama + idam = this Mine). Krishna addresses Arjuna's specific psychological state: the dual vyathā (agitation) + vimūḍha-bhāva (bewildered state) that V45 described as 'my mind is troubled with fear.' The prescription matches the diagnosis.
- vyapeta-bhīḥ prīta-manāḥ punas tvaṃ / tad eva me rūpam idaṃ prapaśya
- — With fear departed and mind delighted, behold again that very form of Mine · Vyapeta-bhīḥ = with fear departed (vyapeta = gone away, departed; bhī = fear; vyapeta-bhī = one from whom fear has gone = fearless). Prīta-manāḥ = with pleased/delighted mind (prīta = pleased, beloved; manas = mind; prīta-manāḥ = one with a pleased mind; the Bahuvrīhi compound = one whose mind is pleased). Punaḥ = again. Tvaṃ = you. Tad eva me rūpam = that very form of Mine (same tat eva as V45's request — Arjuna said 'show me TAT EVA (that very) form'; Krishna uses the same tat eva in his permission = acknowledging and mirroring Arjuna's specific request). Idaṃ prapaśya = see/behold this (pra + paśya = clearly behold). The two-step command: first (vyapeta-bhīḥ + prīta-manāḥ) = internal transformation: release fear, receive delight. Then (prapaśya) = external act: look. The internal precedes the external even in divine vision.
- tad eva me rūpam idaṃ prapaśya
- — Behold again that very form of Mine · The mirror between V45 (Arjuna: 'tad eva me darśaya deva rūpam = show me that very form, O God') and V49 (Krishna: 'tad eva me rūpam idaṃ prapaśya = behold that very form of Mine'). The same phrase — tad eva me rūpam — is used by both: Arjuna petitions it, Krishna grants it. This mirroring is the Gita's literary craft: the devotee's request is acknowledged word-for-word by the divine. The petition is heard. The response matches exactly what was asked for. This is the theological content of V49 in miniature: divine grace responds to the devotee's specific need with the specific answer that was sought.
Krishna gives the direct instruction: don't be distressed, don't be bewildered at having seen the terrible cosmic form. Let fear go, let delight come — and then behold again this (familiar gentle) form. The internal shift comes first: fear released, delight received — then the vision follows.
A modern analogy
Like a guide who has just taken you through an overwhelming experience saying: 'It's okay. Let the fear settle. When your heart is open and calm — look again. You'll see the familiar face you know.'
Sit with this: V49 says: first, let fear depart (vyapeta-bhī) and let your mind become delighted (prīta-manāḥ) — THEN see again. The internal state precedes the external vision. Is there something in your own life that you can't see clearly because you're still too afraid? What would it take to first process the fear before looking again?
V49's sequence (vyapeta-bhīḥ + prīta-manāḥ → prapaśya = first fearless/delighted → then see) encodes the Gita's psychology of spiritual vision. Fear (bhī) and bewilderment (vimūḍha-bhāva) are INTERNAL obstacles to correct perception. They don't make the divine vision unavailable — they make the viewer unable to RECEIVE it. The clearing of fear (vyapeta-bhī) and the arising of delight (prīta-manāḥ) = the internal reconfiguration that makes the next perception possible. This is the Gita's reversal of the ordinary sequence: typically we assume that what we see determines how we feel. V49 says: how we ARE (internally) determines what we can see. The psychology of vision is prior to vision itself.
Advaita lens
V49's vyapeta-bhīḥ (fearlessness) is the Upaniṣadic state of Brahman-realization. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.9 teaches: 'abhayaṃ vai brahma = Brahman is fearlessness.' The one who knows Brahman has no fear because there is nothing 'other' that could threaten them. V49's mā te vyathā (let there be no agitation) + vyapeta-bhīḥ (fear departed) = the Advaitic instruction: the cosmic vision has revealed non-duality; the fear was the lingering identification with the small separate self. As the non-dual recognition stabilizes, fear goes. The prīta-manāḥ (delighted mind) that follows = the natural state of consciousness resting in its own nature (ānanda = bliss = the third aspect of the brahma-equation saccidānanda).
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Be not afraid nor bewildered on seeing such a terrible form of Mine as this; free from fear and cheerful at heart, do thou again see this My former form. [1]
Be not afraid nor bewildered, having beheld this Form of Mine, so terrific. With thy fears dispelled and with gladdened heart, now see again this former Form of Mine. [4]
Let no more trouble shake thy heart, because thine eyes have seen My terror with My glory. As I before have been, So will I be again for thee; with lightened heart behold! Once more I am thy Krishna, the form thou knew'st of old! [7]
Be not afraid nor bewildered, having seen this terrible form of mine; with fears dispelled and gladdened heart do thou again behold my other form. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Overjoyed at the unprecedented, yet trembling with fear — show me that form again, O deveśa jagan-nivāsa!
My delusion is gone — dispersed by Your compassionate words on the Self and its deep mysteries.
Cast off this petty weakness of heart — rise. This is not who you are.
No effort on this path is ever wasted — even a little progress protects you from great fear.
Unmoved in sorrow, ungreedy in joy, free from passion, fear, and anger — that is the steady sage.
Many, freed from attachment, fear, and anger, purified by knowledge-austerity — have attained My being.