For Eternal Beginners
सन्जय उवाच -
इत्यर्जुनम् वासुदेवः तथोक्त्वा
स्वकम् रूपम् दर्शयामास भूयः।
आश्वासयामास च भीतम् एनम्
भूत्वा पुनः सौम्य वपुः महात्मा ॥ ५० ॥
sanjaya uvAca -
ityarjunam vAsudevaH tathoktvA
svakam rUpam darzayAmAsa bhUyaH|
AzvAsayAmAsa ca bhItam enam
bhUtvA punaH saumya vapuH mahAtmA || 50 ||
सन्जय उवाच
[sanjaya uvAca]
Sanjaya said - तथा
[tathA]
Then, इति उक्त्वा
[iti uktvA]
having said this अर्जुनम्
[arjunam]
to Arjuna, महात्मा वासुदेवः
[mahAtmA vAsudevaH]
the great Krishna दर्शयामास
[darzayAmAsa]
showed स्वकम् रूपम्
[svakam rUpam]
His form भूयः
[bhUyaH]
again. आश्वासयामास च
[AzvAsayAmAsa ca]
He then reassures एनम् भीतम्
[enam bhItam]
this frightened soul भूत्वा
[bhUtvA]
by being सोउम्य वपुः
[soumya vapuH]
with a gentle body.
Having said this to Arjuna, The Lord showed His familiar form having four arms, born as the son of Vasudeva.
The great Lord’s intent is always fulfilled. Arjuna was frightened by the sight of an unfamiliar form, so the Lord reassured him by regaining His familiar gentle form. Having four arms is the familiar form of the Lord, the supreme person who was born as the son of Vasudeva with the intention of favoring the world.
At birth, Krishna was requested by His father Vasudeva, who was afraid of Kamsa, to withdraw two of His hands. The hands were withdrawn till Kamsa was killed. After that, they appeared in their natural form.
Vasudeva’s prayer is described in
विश्णु पुराण
[vizNu purANa]
, 5-7-10
/ 13: ‘You are born, O Lord of gods, carrying Your conch and the disc. Be pleased and withdraw this divine form of Yours. Withdraw this form of Yours having four arms, O Lord who owns the universe’.
Shishupala, who hated the son of Vasudeva, always had Krishna’s four-armed form in his mind as the object of hatred, as said in
विश्णु पुराण
[vizNu purANa]
, 4-15-13:
‘The One with four long and large arms, holding the conch, disc and the mace’.
It is the same four-armed form that Arjuna talked about, when He wanted to see the Lord’s familiar form.