Sanskrit
रुद्रादित्या वसवो ये च साध्याः विश्वेऽश्विनौ मरुतश्चोष्मपाश्च । गन्धर्वयक्षासुरसिद्धसङ्घाः वीक्षन्ते त्वां विस्मिताश्चैव सर्वे ॥
rudrādityā vasavo ye ca sādhyā viśve'śvinau marutaś coṣmapāś ca gandharvayakṣāsurasiddhasaṅghāḥ vīkṣante tvāṃ vismitāś caiva sarve
Translation
Rudras, Vasus, Sâdhyas and Adityas, Vishvas, the Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Siddhas, Asuras, in wondering multitudes beholding Thee.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A second, longer roll call after verse 6’s shorter one — Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sādhyas, Vishvadevas, Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Asuras, Siddhas. The sheer density of named classes of beings in a single breath is itself the point: every category of being the tradition has a name for is present and, notably, every one of them is described as “vismitāḥ” — astonished. If even the gods don’t recognize what they’re looking at, that’s a deliberate signal that this exceeds ordinary categories of divinity too. A denser roll-call than BG 11.6’s, and every named class is vismitāḥ — astonished. If even the gods do not recognise what they see, the vision exceeds ordinary categories of divinity too.
Study deeper
Word by word
- rudrādityā vasavo ye ca sādhyāरुद्रादित्या वसवो ये च साध्या
- Rudras, Ādityas, Vasus, and the Sādhyas (rudra-ādityāḥ + vasavaḥ + ye + ca + sādhyāḥ)
- viśve'śvinau marutaś coṣmapāś caविश्वेऽश्विनौ मरुतश् चोष्मपाश् च
- the Viśvedevas, the two Aśvins, the Maruts, and the Uṣmapas (viśve + aśvinau + marutaḥ + ca + uṣmapāḥ + ca)
- gandharvayakṣāsurasiddhasaṅghāḥगन्धर्वयक्षासुरसिद्धसङ्घाः
- the hosts of Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Asuras, and Siddhas (gandharva-yakṣa-asura-siddha-saṅghāḥ)
- vīkṣante tvāṃ vismitāś caiva sarveवीक्षन्ते त्वां विस्मिताश् चैव सर्वे
- all gaze at you, astonished (vīkṣante + tvām + vismitāḥ + ca + eva + sarve)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Compare this to the roster in verse 6: largely the same classes of beings, but the verb has changed. Verse 6 asked Arjuna to look and be told who these figures are; verse 22 reports what they’re all doing now — astonished, all of them. The repetition of an almost identical list across the description isn’t redundant; it’s a marker of how far the scene has traveled in sixteen verses, from introduction to universal, unanimous shock.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you revisit the same people or situation after time has passed, notice not just who's still there but how their state has changed — the same cast reacting differently is often the clearest measure of how far a situation has actually moved.
Professional
- When reviewing the same stakeholder list at two points in a project, track not just who's involved but how their posture has shifted — the same names now reacting with concern instead of routine sign-off is a real signal, easy to miss if you only check attendance.
Family & Social
- When the same family members gather for a second occasion, pay attention to how their mood or reaction has changed since the last time — the shift in the same group's response often tells you more about what's actually happening than any single new person's reaction would.
Ask yourself
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