As inanimate currents of rapid rivers are helplessly propelled into the ocean as given in the previous verse and like animate moths speedily flit into a blazing fire and are destroyed.

The mighty warriors of the Kaurāva and Pāṇḍava armies are propelled helplessly as they speedily rush to their deaths on the battlefield and into the fiery mouths of Lord Krishna's Viśvarūpa or divine universal form.

“अनन्यचेष्टां कुर्वतामपि भगवच्चेष्टयैव प्रलयोदके प्रजानां प्रवेशवत् प्रवेशो युज्यते | सेनामध्यतो भगवन्मुखानामुभयाभिमुखत्वाच्चोभे सेने तत्र प्रविशतः | ये तु तस्मिन्नेव महुर्ते मरिष्यन्ति तेषां दशान्तरे चूर्णितमपि शिरः सूक्ष्मदृष्टिगोचरत्वान्मनुपदृष्ट्या तथा न दृश्यते | तथा भिन्नमपि घटादिकं यावत् पृथक् न पतति तावन्मन्ददृष्टिनां न ज्ञायते | यथा पुरुषो जगाऽशिवभ्यामेव दृष्टा ||” - Like other activities of the Lord eternal waters of dissolution at the time of creative cycle, people were entering His mouth. Established in the middle of the armies with mouths directed both ways, both the armies were entering His mouth. Those who were about to die at the commencement of the war, their heads were seen turning to powder between the teeth of the Lord. Since the sight being subtle can be seen only by few, all others cannot see it. Like a pot which is broken can be seen by ordinary people only when the pieces fall down, this sight is visible to ordinary eyes. It is similar to the case of Puru whose old age was seen only by Ashvins and not by others.

27 *'They hurry forward and enter Thy mouths of gruesome jaws, awe-aspiring. Some, caught within the interstices betwixt the teeth, are seen with their heads crunched to powder.* (410)

And then he said, 'Oh look here; like clouds melting suddenly in the sky the armies on both the sides, with their swords and armours, have disappeared in thy mouth. Or, as at the end of the world-cycle, the great destroyer, all wroth with the universe, clasps in a single deadly embrace all the twenty one heavenly vaults along with the nether region to crush them out, or as the pomp and prosperity of hoarded wealth of niggards vanish all of a sudden, the moment the fates become unpropitious, in the same way, the fully equipped armies assembled here, have disappeared into thy mouth: alas the pity of it, how relentlessly they are bound by karma? Not a single of these could escape (safe) from the mouths. Like the tender shoots of the Ashoka tree which a camel grabs and chews, all these men are lost forever in the mouths. And see how the crowned heads are being pounded between the pincers of the jaws? Some of the pounded crowned jewels seem to have stuck up in the interstices between the teeth while some crunched to powder have spread out over the bottoms of the tongues, while others are stuck up to the pointed ends of the jaws. Indeed the great Destroyer the Omnipresent Deity has gulped down the able-bodied men and yet their heads He has kept together. In truth the heads are the best part of the body and so could survive the wholesale slaughter in the destructive mouths. Arjuna went on “Earth-born creatures have no other course open to them and thus the whole world becomes an easy prey in the abyss of these mouths. The entire creation goes the way of this abysmal death and the Destroyer Omnipresent Deity is standing unmoved where He is, and is gathering in quietly everything that finds its way to his jaws. All the Gods of the heavenly region, including the creator himself, are entering into the upper mouths, while the common warriors are rushing into the mouths lower down. And myriad of smaller creatures are being finished just as they are born. So not one slips out of the strangle-hold of these mouths:

‘Bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūtaputrastathāsau sahāsmadiyairapi yodhamukhyaiḥ’—Arjuna says, that the chief warriors on their side, such as Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa and Drupada etc., believed in righteousness and were prepared to wage the war, regarding it as their duty. All these warriors, as well as Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa were rushing headlong into the Lord’s mouth. Arjuna mentions these three names, of the rival army, to explain that they also joined the army, as a part of their duty.*

* Bhīṣma—Bhīṣma is a very well-known figure in the history of the world for his vow of life long celibacy and renunciation of his claim to his father’s throne in order to facilitate his father’s marriage with Satyavati. He was so firm in his vow that he fought against his preceptor Paraśurāma. Lord Kṛṣṇa had vowed that he would remain unarmed. But when Bhīṣma vowed that he would compel Lord Kṛṣṇa to be equipped with weapon, He had to take up arms, once a whip and the second time a disc and run towards Bhīṣma.

Droṇa—Droṇa ate Duryodhana’s food. So it was incumbent upon him to fight, thus he joined the battle regarding it as his duty. But at last listening to the gods he withdraws himself from the battle thinking of his duty as a Brāhmaṇa (a member of the priest class). He was so impartial that he taught his own son, Aśvatthāmā how to set Brahmāstra (a weapon or missile which caused infallible destruction and was used and withdrawn by chanting sacred formulas) in motion only while to his disciple Arjuna he taught both how to set it in motion and how to withdraw it.

Karṇa—Being a bosom friend of Duryodhana, he fought on his side. Even when Lord Kṛṣṇa disclosed to him that he was Kuntī’s son, he refused to give up the cause of Duryodhana. Moreover he asked Lord Kṛṣṇa not to disclose the

'Amī ca tvām dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvanipāla-saṅghaih'—Those kings who were well-wishers of Duryodhana, and were ready to fight on his side, as well as Dhṛtarāṣṭra's hundred sons—Duryodhana and Duḥśāsana, etc., were rushing headlong, into the Lord's mouths, having terrible teeth.

'Kecidvilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitairuttamāṅgaiḥ'—Some warriors were ingested by the Lord, but some of them were seen sticking in the gaps between the teeth, with heads crushed.

Here a doubt arises, as to how, Arjuna saw the warriors rushing headlong into the mouth of the Lord's cosmic form, when they were arrayed alive, on the battlefield? The clarification is, that the Lord asked Arjuna to behold whatever else he desired to see, in His cosmic form (11/7). Moreover, Arjuna had a doubt whether they or their enemies would win (2/6). So Arjuna, could foresee their own victory, in the Lord's cosmic body. The same fact, will be pointed out by the Lord, in response to Arjuna's question (11/32—34).

Appendix—Arjuna, in the cosmic form of the Lord, is beholding the imminent future. The Lord is beyond the limit of time, so in Him the past, the future and the present—the three are only present (Gītā 7/26).

*Link:—In the next verse, Arjuna describes those notable*

secret to Yudhiṣṭhira otherwise he, regarding him as his elder brother, would handover the kingdom to him and who would hand it over to Duryodhana. So the Pāṇḍavas would lead a miserable life forever.

His charities were incomparable. One day Indra, the king of the gods, in Arjuna's interest, begged him to make a gift of his natural armour and earrings attached to his body. With great delight he tore his armour and earrings from his body and gave them away. Kuntī asked him not to kill anyone of her sons in the war. He promised not to kill her four sons but he would fight against Arjuna who could either be killed or would kill him. Even if Arjuna died, she would have five sons (including him viz., Karṇa).

*warriors who were striving for God-realization, and took up arms, regarding it as their duty, by giving the illustration of rivers.*

| यथा | नदीनां | बहवोऽम्बुवेगाः | | --- | --- | --- |

शीघ्रतासे—बड़ी जल्दीके साथ आपके मुखोंमें प्रवेश कर रहे हैं। किस प्रकारके मुखोंमें? दाढ़ोंवाले विकराल भयंकर मुखोंमें।

तथा उन मुखोंमें प्रविष्ट हुए पुरुषोंमेंसे भी कितने ही विचूर्णित मस्तकोंसहित दाँतोंके बीचमें भक्षण किये हुए मांसकी भाँति चिपके हुए दीख रहे हैं

तेथ म्हणे पाहा हो एके वेळे । सासिकवचेंसि दोन्ही दळें । वदनीं गेलीं आभाळें । गगनीं कां जैसीं ॥ ४१० ॥ कां महाकल्पाचिया शेवटीं । जैं कृतांतु कोपला होय सृष्टी । तैं एकविसांही स्वर्गां मिठी । पाताळासकट दे ॥ ४११ ॥ नातरी उदासीनें दैवें । संचकाचीं वैभवें । जेथींचीं तेथ स्वभावें । विलया जाती ॥ ४१२ ॥ तैसीं सासिन्नलीं सैन्यें एकवटें । इये मुखीं जाहलीं प्रविष्टें । परी एकही तोंडौनि न सुटे । कैसें कर्म देखा ॥ ४१३ ॥ अशोकाचे अंगवसे । चघळिले कऱ्हेनि जैसे । लोक वक्त्रामाजीं तैसे । वायां गेले ॥ ४१४ ॥ परि सिसाळें मुकुटेंसीं । पडिली दाढांचे सांडसीं । पीठ होत कैसीं । दिसत आहाती ॥ ४१५ ॥ तियें रत्नें दांतांचिये सवडीं । कूट लागलें जिभेच्या बुडीं । कांहीं कांहीं आगरडीं । द्रंष्ट्रांचीं माखलीं ॥ ४१६ ॥ हो कां जे विश्वरूपें काळें । ग्रासिलीं लोकांचीं शरीरें बळें । परि जीवित्व देहींचीं सिसाळें । अवश्य कीं राखिलीं ॥ ४१७ ॥ तैसीं शरीरामाजीं चोखडीं । इयें उत्तमांगें होतीं फुडीं । म्हणौनि महाकाळाचियाही तोंडीं । परि उरलीं शेखीं ॥ ४१८ ॥ मग म्हणे हें काई । जन्मलयां आन मोहरचि नाहीं । जग आपैसेंचि वदनडोहीं । संचारताहे ॥ ४१९ ॥ यया आपेंआप आघविया सृष्टी । लागलिया आहाति वदनाच्या वाटीं । आणि हा जेथिंचिया तेथ मिठी । देतसे उगला ॥ ४२० ॥ ब्रह्मादिक समस्त । उंचा मुखामाजीं धांवत । येर सामान्य हे भरत । ऐलीच वदनीं ॥ ४२१ ॥ आणीकही भूतजात । तें उपजलेचि ठायीं ग्रासित । परि याचिया मुखा निभ्रांत । न सुटेचि कांहीं ॥ ४२२ ॥

(11.410) फिर अर्जुन ने कहा — देखिए, तलवार और कवचों-सहित ये दोनों पक्ष की सेनाएँ, आकाश में अभ्र के समान, एकदम आपके मुख में समा गईं,

(11.411) अथवा महाकल्प के अन्त में जब कृतान्त सृष्टि पर रुठता है तब जैसे पाताल-समेत इक्कीसों सर्गों को लिपटा लेता है,

(11.412) अथवा प्रतिकूल भाग्य के वश जैसे संग्रह करनेहारों की सम्पत्ति जहाँ की तहाँ बिला जाती है,

(11.413) वैसे ही ये विस्तृत सेनाएँ एकदम आपके मुख में विलीन हो गईं। आपके मुख से कोई भी नहीं छूटता। देखिए, कर्म कैसा है!

(11.414) ऊँट जैसे अशोक वृक्ष की पत्तियाँ चबाता है, वैसे ही ये लोक आपके मुखों में वृथा जा रहे हैं।

(11.415) मुकुटों-सहित ये शिर आपकी दाढ़ों की सँडसी में गिर कर कैसे चूर्ण हुए दीख रहे हैं! (11.416) मुकुटों के रत्न आपके दाँतों के बीच आ लगे हैं तथा उनका चूर्ण आपकी जीभ की जड़ में लगा हुआ है और किसी किसी दाढ़ का अग्रभाग भी उस चूर्ण से लिपटा हुआ है,

(11.417) मानों विश्वरूप-रूपी काल ने लोगों के शरीर और बल को तो ग्रस लिया हो परन्तु उनकी देह की छाल को जान बूझ कर रख छोड़ा हो।

(11.418) वैसे ही इन शरीरों में शिर वास्तव में उत्तमांग थे इसलिए वे महाकाल के मुँह में चले गये परन्तु शरीरमात्र निदान में बच रहे।

(11.419) फिर अर्जुन ने कहा कि जन्म को प्राप्त हुए प्राणियों को क्या दूसरा मार्ग ही नहीं है जो सब जगत् आप ही आप इस मुख- रूपी देह में प्रवेश कर रहा है?

(11.420) ये सम्पूर्ण सृष्टियाँ आप ही आप मुख के ही पीछे लगी हैं, और ये परमात्मा जहाँ तहाँ चुपचाप उन्हें लिपटा रहे हैं।

(11.421) ब्रह्मा इत्यादि सब देव इस सुख के उच्च भाग में दौड़ रहे हैं और दूसरे जो सामान्य हैं वे इस मुख में इसी पार घुस रहे हैं। (11.422) जो अन्य प्राणिमात्र हैं वे जहाँ उपजते हैं वहीं ग्रसित हो जाते हैं। इस प्रकार इनके मुख से निश्चय से कुछ नहीं छूटता।

भीष्मो द्रोणः सूतपुत्रस्तथासौ सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः—हमारे पक्षके धृष्टद्युम्न, विराट, द्रुपद आदि जो मुख्य-मुख्य योद्धालोग हैं, वे सब-के-सब धर्मके पक्षमें हैं और केवल अपना कर्तव्य समझकर युद्ध करनेके लिये आये हैं। हमारे इन सेनापतियोंके साथ पितामह भीष्म,

आचार्य द्रोण और वह प्रसिद्ध सूतपुत्र कर्ण आपमें प्रविष्ट हो रहे हैं। यहाँ भीष्म, द्रोण और कर्णका नाम लेनेका तात्पर्य है कि ये तीनों ही अपने कर्तव्यका पालन करनेके लिये युद्धमें आये थे*।

* भीष्म—भीष्मजीकी प्रतिज्ञा दुनियामें प्रसिद्ध है कि उन्होंने पिताजीकी प्रसन्नताके लिये विवाह न करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा की और आबाल ब्रह्मचारी रहे। इस प्रतिज्ञापर वे इतने डटे रहे कि उन्होंने गुरु परशुरामजीके साथ युद्ध किया, पर अपनी प्रतिज्ञा नहीं तोड़ी। भगवान्ने पहले हाथमें शस्त्र ग्रहण न करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा की थी। परन्तु जब भीष्मजीने (भगवान्की प्रतिज्ञाके विरुद्ध) यह प्रतिज्ञा कर ली कि 'आजु जो हरिहिं न शस्त्र गहाऊँ। तौ लाजौं गंगा जननीको शान्तनु-सुत न कहाऊँ॥' तो भगवान्की भी अपनी प्रतिज्ञा छोड़कर एक बार चाबुक और दूसरी बार चक्र लेकर भीष्मजीकी तरफ दौड़ना पड़ा। इस तरह भीष्मकी प्रतिज्ञा बनी रही और भगवान्की प्रतिज्ञा टूट गयी!

द्रोण—द्रोणाचार्य दुर्योधनका अन्त खाकर उसके वृत्तिभोगी रहे हैं। इसलिये वे युद्धको अपना कर्तव्य समझकर युद्धमें लग जाते हैं और अन्तमें देवताओंकी बातें सुनकर और युद्धमें अपने ब्राह्मणोचित धर्मको समझकर युद्धसे उपरांत हो जाते हैं।

द्रोणाचार्यमें इतनी निष्पक्षता थी कि गुरुभक्त और विद्यामें तत्पर अर्जुनको ब्रह्मास्त्र छोड़ना और उसका उपसंहार करना (वापस लेना)—ये दो विद्याएँ सिखा दीं; परन्तु अपने पुत्र अश्वत्थामाको केवल ब्रह्मास्त्र छोड़ना ही सिखाया, उपसंहार करना सिखाया ही नहीं।

कर्ण—कर्णकी दुर्योधनके साथ मित्रता थी, उस मित्रतारूप कर्तव्यको निभानेके लिये वे युद्धमें आते हैं। भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके द्वारा 'कर्ण! तू कुन्तीका बेटा है,' ऐसा कहनेपर भी वे दुर्योधनके पक्षमें ही रहे और उन्होंने भगवान्से कहा कि 'यह बात आप धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरसे मत कहना; क्योंकि अगर उनको पता लग जायगा तो मुझे बड़ा समझकर वे राज्य मुझे दे देंगे और मैं राज्य दुर्योधनको दे दूँगा। इससे पाण्डव सदाके लिये दुःखी रहेंगे।'

कर्ण बड़े दृढ़प्रतिज्ञ थे। वे विचित्र ही दानवीर थे। इन्द्रके माँगनेपर उन्होंने अपने नैसर्गिक (जन्मजात) कुण्डल और कवच उतारकर दे दिये थे। माता कुन्तीके द्वारा माँगनेपर उन्होंने उनको पाँच पुत्रोंके बने रहनेका वचन दिया, जिसमें उन्होंने कहा 'माँ! मैं युधिष्ठिर, भीम, नकुल और सहदेवको तो मारूँगा नहीं, पर अर्जुनके साथ मेरा युद्ध होगा। युद्धमें अगर अर्जुन मेरेको मार देगा, तो तेरे पाँच पुत्र रहेंगे ही और अगर मैं अर्जुनको मार दूँगा, तो भी मेरेसहित तेरे पाँच पुत्र रहेंगे!'

‘अमी च त्वां धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्राः सर्वे सहैवानिपालसङ्गैः’—दुर्योधनके पक्षमें जितने राजालोग हैं, जो युद्धमें दुर्योधनका प्रिय करना चाहते हैं (गीता—पहले अध्यायका तेईसवाँ श्लोक) अर्थात् दुर्योधनको हितकी सलाह नहीं दे रहे हैं, उन सभी राजाओंके समूहोंके साथ धृतराष्ट्रके दुर्योधन, दुःशासन आदि सौ पुत्र विकराल दाढ़ोंके कारण अत्यन्त भयानक आपके मुखोंमें बड़ी तेजीसे प्रवेश कर रहे हैं—‘वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति दण्डाकरालानि भयानकानि।’

विराटरूपमें वे चाहे भगवान्में प्रवेश करें, चाहे भगवान्के मुखोंमें जायें, वह एक ही लीला है। परन्तु भावोंके अनुसार उनकी गतियाँ अलग-अलग प्रतीत हो रही हैं। इसलिये भगवान्में जायें अथवा मुखोंमें जायें, वे हैं तो विराटरूपमें ही।

‘केचिद्विलग्ना दशानन्तरेषु संदृश्यन्ते चूर्णिते-रुत्तमाङ्गैः’—जैसे खाद्य पदार्थोंमें कुछ पदार्थ ऐसे होते हैं, जो चबाते समय सीधे पेटमें चले जाते हैं, पर कुछ पदार्थ ऐसे होते हैं, जो चबाते समय दाँतों और दाढ़ोंके बीचमें

परिशिष्ट भाव—अर्जुन भगवान्के विराटरूपमें आसन्न भविष्यको देख रहे हैं। कालातीत होनेसे भगवान्में भूत, भविष्य और वर्तमान—तीनों काल वर्तमान ही हैं (गीता—सातवें अध्यायका छब्बीसवाँ श्लोक)।

सम्बन्ध—जो अपना कर्तव्य समझकर धर्मकी दृष्टिसे युद्धमें आये हैं और जो परमात्माकी प्राप्ति चाहनेवाले हैं—ऐसे पुरुषोंका विराटरूपमें नदियोंके दृष्टान्तसे प्रवेश करनेका वर्णन अर्जुन आगेके श्लोकमें करते हैं।