Sanskrit
मन्यसे यदि तच्छक्यं मया द्रष्टुमिति प्रभो । योगेश्वर ततो मे त्वं दर्शयात्मानमव्ययम् ॥
manyase yadi tac chakyaṃ mayā draṣṭum iti prabho yogeśvara tato me tvaṃ darśayātmānam avyayam
Translation
If Thou thinkest that by me It can be seen, O Lord, Lord of Yoga, then show me Thine imperishable Self.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna qualifies his own request with “if Thou thinkest it can be seen by me” — an admission, before the fact, that this might exceed his capacity. The address “Yogeśvara,” Lord of Yoga, names Krishna’s mastery over the very mechanism that will make the vision possible: this isn’t a request that human eyes simply look harder, it’s a request that Krishna do something to Arjuna’s faculty of sight. Verse 8 will make that mechanism explicit. “If you think it can be seen by me” is an admission, before the fact, that this may exceed Arjuna’s capacity. Addressing Krishna as yoga-īśvara names the mechanism: not human eyes looking harder, but Krishna doing something to the faculty of sight, which BG 11.8 makes explicit.
Study deeper
Word by word
- manyase yadi tac chakyaṃमन्यसे यदि तच् छक्यं
- if you think it can be (manyase + yadi + tat + śakyam)
- mayā draṣṭum iti prabhoमया द्रष्टुं इति प्रभो
- seen by me, O Lord (mayā + draṣṭum + iti + prabho)
- yogeśvara tato me tvaṃयोगेश्वर ततो मे त्वं
- O Lord of Yoga, then, to me, you (yoga-īśvara + tataḥ + me + tvam)
- darśayātmānam avyayamदर्शयात्मानं अव्ययं
- show your imperishable Self (darśaya + ātmānam + avyayam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Arjuna doesn’t just ask to see the imperishable Self — he hands Krishna the decision about whether he’s even capable of it. That’s a distinct move from the certainty he showed demanding answers back in chapter 2: here the boldest request in the poem so far arrives wrapped in a conditional that puts the call in someone else’s hands. Naming the mechanism — Yogeśvara, Lord of Yoga — in the same breath as the hedge suggests he already senses this isn’t something his own effort alone can satisfy.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you ask for something that might be beyond your current capacity, it's fine to say so openly and let someone with more perspective than you make that call — that's not weakness, it's an accurate read of where the limits of your own judgment are.
Professional
- When proposing an ambitious stretch assignment for yourself, name the possibility that you might not be ready for it and let your manager weigh in on readiness — an honest hedge builds more trust than false confidence would.
Family & Social
- If you're asking someone for a level of vulnerability or honesty you're not sure you can handle, say so — 'tell me if you think I can take this' is a more honest request than pretending you already know your own limits.
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