Chapter 10 · Shloka 19— The Yoga of Divine Glories

śhrī bhagavān uvācha hanta te kathayiṣhyāmi divyā hyātma-vibhūtayaḥ prādhānyataḥ kuru-śhreṣhṭha nāstyanto vistarasya me

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha

— the Blessed Lord spoke

hanta

— yes

te

— to you

kathayiṣhyāmi

— I shall describe

divyāḥ

— divine

hi

— certainly

ātma-vibhūtayaḥ

— my divine glories

prādhānyataḥ

— salient

kuru-śhreṣhṭha

— best of the Kurus

na

— not

asti

— is

antaḥ

— limit

vistarasya

— extensive glories

me

— my

"Sri-bhagavan uvaca: Hanta te kathayisyami divya hy atma-vibhutayah, pradhanyatah kuru-srestha nasty anto vistarasya me." — The Blessed Lord said: Yes! I shall tell you of My divine glories, but only the principal ones, O best of the Kurus; for there is no end to My extent. Krishna responds warmly to Arjuna's eager request (10.16–18). 'Hanta te kathayisyami divyah hi atma-vibhutayah' — Yes! (hanta, an exclamation of glad assent) I shall tell you of My divine glories (atma-vibhutayah). Krishna happily agrees to describe where His glory especially shines forth. But he adds an important qualification: 'pradhanyatah kuru-srestha' — only the principal ones (pradhanyatah, the most prominent), O best of the Kurus. He will give only the chief examples, not an exhaustive list. The reason: 'na asti antah vistarasya me' — there is no end (anta) to My extent (vistara). The divine glories are literally infinite; no complete enumeration is possible. Shankaracharya explains the necessity of this qualification. Since the Divine pervades absolutely everything (9.4), every single thing that exists is, in some sense, a divine glory. A complete list would be endless — it would include all of existence. So Krishna will give only representative examples, the most prominent instances, as pointers toward the infinite divine presence in all. This verse beautifully acknowledges the infinity of the divine presence while still offering practical, finite handholds. Krishna cannot list every glory (they are endless), but he can give the principal ones, enough to orient the mind. The examples are not the boundary of the divine presence but doorways into recognizing it everywhere. The insight is practically wise: when something is genuinely infinite or inexhaustible, you don't try to capture all of it (impossible) — you select representative examples that point toward the whole. The list Krishna is about to give isn't meant to limit the Divine to those things; it's meant to train the eye to recognize the divine glory, so you can then see it everywhere. The specific examples are training wheels for infinite recognition.

Krishna agrees to describe his glories but adds a vital caveat: he'll give only the PRINCIPAL ones, because 'there is no end to My extent.' Since the Divine pervades everything, a complete list would be literally endless. So the examples to come aren't meant to limit the Divine to those specific things — they're meant to TRAIN THE EYE to recognize the divine glory, so you can then see it everywhere. This is genuinely wise practical methodology for engaging anything infinite or inexhaustible. You can't capture the whole of something boundless — so instead, you pick representative examples that point toward the whole and train your perception. Think of how you learn to appreciate art, music, or nature: a teacher shows you a few specific examples ('notice this, listen for that'), not to say 'these are the only good ones,' but to train your eye and ear so you can then find beauty everywhere on your own. The specific examples are training wheels. The lesson: when facing something vast and inexhaustible, don't get paralyzed trying to grasp all of it. Take a few good representative examples, let them train your perception — and then you'll start recognizing the larger pattern everywhere yourself.

Krishna agrees to describe his glories but adds a central caveat: he'll give only the PRINCIPAL ones, because 'there is no end to My extent.' Since the Divine pervades everything, a complete list would be literally endless. So the examples coming up aren't meant to limit the Divine to those specific things — they're meant to TRAIN THE EYE to recognize the divine glory, so you can then see it everywhere yourself. This is genuinely smart methodology for engaging anything infinite or inexhaustible. You can't capture the whole of something boundless — so instead you pick representative examples that point toward the whole and train your perception. Think of how you learn to appreciate art, music, or nature: a good teacher shows you a few specific examples ('notice this, listen for that') — not to say 'these are the only good ones,' but to train your eye and ear so you can then find beauty everywhere on your own. The specific examples are training wheels. The lesson: when facing something vast and inexhaustible, don't get paralyzed trying to grasp ALL of it. Take a few good representative examples, let them train your perception — and then you'll start seeing the bigger pattern everywhere yourself.

Krishna happily agrees to Arjuna's request! He says: 'Yes! I'll tell you about My divine glories — but only the main ones, because there's literally no end to them!' Since God is in EVERYTHING, a complete list would go on forever and ever! So Krishna picks the best examples — not to say 'God is ONLY in these things,' but to train Arjuna's eyes to recognize God's glory, so he can then see it everywhere! It's like a teacher showing you a few beautiful flowers to help you learn what to look for — and then YOU start noticing beautiful flowers everywhere on your own! The few examples are just to get you started. The lesson: when something is too big to list completely, learn from a few good examples — and then you'll be able to spot the wonderful pattern all by yourself, everywhere you look!