Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 12

English Translation

Should the effulgence of a thousand suns blaze forth simultaneously in the sky, that might be similar to the radiance of that exalted One.

Detailed Commentary

Regarding 'Divi Suryasahasrasya... Tasya Mahātmanaḥ' (11.12): Just as in the sky, even if thousands of stars rise simultaneously, their combined light does not equal the light of a single moon, and the combined light of thousands of moons does not equal the light of a single sun, similarly, the combined light of thousands of suns in the sky cannot be like the light of the Virat Bhagavan. This means that even the light of thousands of suns cannot compare to the effulgence of Virat Bhagavan. For this very reason, Sanjay feels a hesitation (sankoch) in using the light of thousands of suns as a mere simile (upamāna), indicating that it cannot truly be an equivalent for the light of Bhagavan's Virat Rupa. The reason is that the sun's light is material (bhautika), whereas Bhagavan's light is divine (divya). No matter how grand material light may be, it is trivial (tuchchha) before divine light. As the natures (prakṛti) of material and divine light are different, they cannot be compared. However, material light can be used to point towards divine light. Here, Sanjay too, by imagining the material light of thousands of suns, draws attention to the light of Virat Rupa Bhagavan. Connection: Having described the divine form (divya rupa), limbs (avayava), and effulgence (teja) of Vishwarupa Bhagavan in the preceding shlokas, Sanjay now describes Arjuna's vision (darshana) of the Vishwarupa.