आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपो
नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद
विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं
न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम्
ākhyāhi me ko bhavānugrarūpo
namo'stu te devavara prasīda
vijñātumicchāmi bhavantamādyaṃ
na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim
TRANSLATION
Tell me who You are with this terrible form? Salutation to You, O Supreme God. Be gracious. I desire to know You, the Primal One. I do not know Your activity.
PURPORT
Who are You of this terrible form, what do You intend to do? I wish to know. For I do not know Your intended actions. Tell me this. Salutations to You, O Supreme God! Salutations to You, Lord of everything! Say with what object and for what purpose You have assumed this form of the destroyer. Assume a pleasing form.
The Lord, the charioteer of Arjuna, being questioned, ‘What is Your intention in assuming a terrible form when revealing Your cosmic sovereignty out of overflowing love for Your proteges?’—He spoke to the following effect: The manifestation of a terrible form by Me is to point out that I Myself am operative for the annihilation of the entire world of kings headed by the sons of Dhrtarashtra, without any effort on your (Arjuna’s) part. Reminding Arjuna of this, is to goad him to fight:
