171. When Gods Fear

Arjuna says, “The hosts of gods surrender unto you. Filled with fear, some praise you with folded hands (11.21). The Rudras, Adityas etc. behold you quite astonished (11.22). Seeing your mighty form with many mouths and eyes, many arms, thighs and feet, many stomachs, many terrible tusks, the worlds are terrified, and so am I (11.23). Seeing you touching the sky, my mind is terrified and I find no courage or peace (11.24). Seeing your mouths with terrible tusks and fires, I lost sense of direction” (11.25).

Arjuna says that Gods are filled with fear and the worlds are terrified. Fear and favour (expectation) represent a pair of polarities. Hence, behind a favour, fear is hidden. Favour could be from Paramatma, family, boss or even from ourselves. Fear is born when we apprehend that favour wouldn’t be bestowed. When favour seeking is dropped, fear automatically disappears. Gods too are seeking favours from Vishwaroop of Krishna for themselves or their devotees and hence their fear is bound to follow that.

A flowing river is the best example to understand the host of dualities or polarities Arjuna finds in Vishwaroop. A river has two banks and both merge as the riverbed. A river can’t flow with one bank. It invariably needs two banks that are exerting pressure in opposite directions. On the other hand, if these banks don’t meet at the riverbed, then it would be an infinitely deep valley and a river can’t exist. Our senses can’t penetrate water and hence can’t perceive the riverbed. They can’t even see the opposite bank when the river is mighty. Similarly, we too miss the other polarity of the pair in this mighty existence. Likewise, we have the manifested world which is invariably polar (riverbanks) and these polarities unite at the unmanifested (riverbed) and that’s what Arjuna is seeing in Vishwaroop.