Chapter XI · Śloka 12
दिवि सूर्यसहस्रस्य भवेद्युगपदुत्थिता ।
यदि भाः सदृशी सा स्याद्भासस्तस्य महात्मनः ॥
यदि भाः सदृशी सा स्याद्भासस्तस्य महात्मनः ॥
divi sūrya-sahasrasya bhaved yugapad utthitā ।
yadi bhāḥ sadṛśī sā syād bhāsas tasya mahātmanaḥ ॥
yadi bhāḥ sadṛśī sā syād bhāsas tasya mahātmanaḥ ॥
If the light of a thousand suns were to blaze forth all at once in the sky, that might resemble the splendor of that great Soul.
This is one of the most celebrated comparisons in the Gītā, and it was famously recalled by J. Robert Oppenheimer at the first atomic test. The hyperbole of a thousand simultaneous suns conveys that the divine brilliance exceeds every natural measure.