Chapter XI · Śloka 31
आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपो
नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद |
विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं
न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम् ||
नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद |
विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं
न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम् ||
ākhyāhi me ko bhavān ugra-rūpo
namo 'stu te deva-vara prasīda |
vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṃ
na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim ||
namo 'stu te deva-vara prasīda |
vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṃ
na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim ||
Tell me who You are in this fierce form. I bow to You, O great lord; be gracious. I wish to know You, the Primal One, for I do not understand what You are doing.
Overwhelmed and trembling, Arjuna abandons philosophical inquiry and speaks from naked fear — he cannot comprehend what he is witnessing. The question 'who are you?' becomes the most urgent question any soul can ask of the divine.