11.8 Not with these eyes Krishna speaks
न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा
दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षुः पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम्
na tu māṁ śhakyase draṣhṭum anenaiva sva-chakṣhuṣhā
divyaṁ dadāmi te chakṣhuḥ paśhya me yogam aiśhwaram
But you cannot see me with these eyes of yours. I give you divine sight: behold.
Explanation
Not with these eyes of yours.
The most important verse in the chapter for reading the rest of it. I give you divine sight — divyaṁ cakṣuḥ.
What follows is not a thing standing in front of him that anyone could have photographed. It requires an issued faculty, and that faculty is withdrawn again at 11.50.
Going further
Word by word
- na
- not
- tu
- but
- mām
- me
- śhakyase
- you can
- draṣhṭum
- to see
- anena
- with these
- eva
- even
- sva-chakṣhuṣhā
- with your physical eyes
- divyam
- divine
- dadāmi
- I give
- te
- to you
- chakṣhuḥ
- eyes
- paśhya
- behold
- me
- my
- yogam aiśhwaram
- majestic opulence
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You cannot see me with these eyes of yours. I give you divine sight.
The most important verse in the chapter for reading the rest of it. Whatever happens next is not described as a thing that appeared in front of Arjuna. It is described as a change in what he was able to see — which is why 11.51, where the ordinary form returns, is a relief rather than a loss.