Bhagavad-Gita: Chapter 11, Verse 1

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Visnuswami

Sridhara Swami's Commentary

The Supreme Lord Krishna out of extreme compassion revealed His prominent vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence in the previous chapter. Now in this chapter His compassion is extended even further and being eagerly requested by Arjuna He reveals His universal form. At the end of the last chapter Lord Krishna reveals that He pervades and supports the whole creation of everything cognisant and non-cognisant with just a fraction of His potency. Thus the universal form has been hinted at. Although so many topics were of an esoteric and secretive nature, to alleviate His devotees despair and delusion Lord Krishna gently corrected all erroneous conceptions and confirmed the reality that the soul is eternal and everyone and everything is irrevocably following the will of the Supreme Lord in all respects. Arjuna is acknowledging that he understands these things throughly.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Madhvacarya
There is no commentary for this verse.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Ramanuja

Ramanuja's Commentary

In order to kindle great affection for bhakti or excluisve loving devotion unto the Supreme Lord and fan the flame until combustion with the reality about the nature of divinity and encompassing all things within and withiout, accompanied by a multitude of expressions of vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence, sublime and phenomenal which partially characterise the unlimited qualities, attributes and potencies of the Supreme Lord Krishna. This has all been delineated in the previous chapters and contingent upon this reality the understanding that all differing and contrary natures, everything that is cit or sentient and acit or non- sentient and their substance, their manifestation and their span of life along with their derivation from the divine nature are actually one perfectly harmonising consciousness flowing through all existence and this has also been explicitly explained.

Previously Arjuna had been labouring under the false illusion of loving his perishable physical body as if it was the imperishable atma or eternal soul. Lord Krishna has compassionately dispelled such misconceptions by completely revealing in chapter two the eternal nature of the atma. The word adhyatma or wisdom of the eternal soul is that which is embodied within Srimad Bhagavad-Gita beginning in chapter two, verse 12 and ending in chapter six, verse 46

Having learned these essential and esteemed subject matters such as the eternality of the atma, the singular oneness of the Supreme Lord and the dependence of all things moving and non-moving for their very existence on Him from the Supreme Lord Krishna Himself, Arjuna has come to the conclusion that everything Lord Krishna has revealed is the complete absolute truth. But desiring to perceive this with His faculties of perception he queries the Supreme Lord further as will be revealed further in this chapter

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Nimbaditya

Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary

For the purpose of germinating and increasing bhakti or exclusive loving devotional service the Supreme Lord Krishna in chapter ten spoke of His vibhuti or divine transcendental opulence and at its end in verse 42 He alluded to His visvarupa or divine universal form with the words eka-amsena referring to a fractional expansion of Himself. Beginning with chapter 2, verse 12 na tv evaham jatu nasam meaning: Never was there a time when Lord Krishna did no exist. Continuing on to chapter 4, verse 46 yogam atisthottistha meaning: become a yogi or one perfecting the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness. In the first four verses of this chapter Arjuna begins by gratefully acknowledging the great compassion of Lord Krishna to reveal such supremely confidential knowledge regarding the eternality of the ?tma or eternal soul in comparison to the temporary, perishable state of the physical body and then affirms that now his delusion has been dispelled and the infatuation felt due to a sense of ego for the body and mind has been eradicated because it is an absolute truth that the soul is never the performer of any action.