Sanskrit
तच्च संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य रूपमत्यद्भुतं हरेः । विस्मयो मे महान् राजन् हृष्यामि च पुनः पुनः ॥ ७७ ॥
tac ca saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya rūpam aty-adbhutaṃ hareḥ vismayo me mahān rājan hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥ
Translation
Remembering, remembering, also that most marvellous form of Hari, great is my wonder, O King. I rejoice, again and again.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The same structure repeats, now aimed specifically at chapter 11’s theophany: remembering, again and again, “that most marvellous form of Hari,” Sanjaya’s wonder remains undiminished. It’s a striking detail that the narrator, not a participant in the war or the dialogue, is shown to be as transformed by witnessing the vishvarupa as Arjuna was by living through it. What Sanjaya keeps returning to is chapter 11 — the Universal Form, ati-adbhuta, “most wondrous.” Of everything in the dialogue, the theophany is what leaves vismaya mahān, a great and lasting astonishment.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tac ca saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtyaतच् च संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य
- and recalling again and again (tat + ca + saṃsmṛtya + saṃsmṛtya)
- rūpam aty-adbhutaṃ hareḥरूपं अत्य्-अद्भुतं हरेः
- that most wondrous form of Hari (rūpam + ati-adbhutam + hareḥ)
- vismayo me mahān rājanविस्मयो मे महान् राजन्
- great is my wonder, O King (vismayaḥ + me + mahān + rājan)
- hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥहृष्यामि च पुनः पुनः
- and I rejoice again and again (hṛṣyāmi + ca + punaḥ + punaḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
This is the same doubled-verb formula as the previous verse, reused rather than varied — but pointed at a different memory: the dialogue as a whole there, the vishvarupa specifically here. Sanjaya isn’t blending his recollections into one general glow; the form repeats because two distinct memories are each, independently, earning the exact same intensity of return.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When looking back on a formative period of your life, you probably don't have one blended memory of it but several distinct moments that each independently deserve their own return visit — let yourself revisit them separately rather than compressing them into one vague recollection.
Professional
- When reflecting on what made a big project meaningful, resist collapsing it into one general takeaway — often there are two or three genuinely distinct moments that each deserve to be named and revisited on their own terms.
Family & Social
- When you think back on what made a relationship or a season of family life meaningful, try naming the two or three distinct moments that each still move you, rather than flattening them into one general fond feeling.
Ask yourself
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