TEXT 5
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi
śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ
nānā-vidhāni divyāni
nānā-varṇākṛtīni ca
śrī-bhagavān uvāca – the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; paśya – just see; me – My; pārtha – O son of Pṛthā; rūpāṇi – forms; śataśaḥ – hundreds; atha – also; sahasraśaḥ – thousands; nānā-vidhāni – variegated; divyāni – divine; nānā – variegated; varṇa – colors; ākṛtīni – forms; ca – also.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, O son of Pṛthā, see now My opulences, hundreds of thousands of varied divine and multicolored forms.
Arjuna wanted to see Kṛṣṇa in His universal form, which, although a transcendental form, is just manifested for the cosmic manifestation and is therefore subject to the temporary time of this material nature. As the material nature is manifested and not manifested, similarly this universal form of Kṛṣṇa is manifested and nonmanifested. It is not eternally situated in the spiritual sky like Kṛṣṇa’s other forms. As far as a devotee is concerned, he is not eager to see the universal form, but because Arjuna wanted to see Kṛṣṇa in this way, Kṛṣṇa reveals this form. This universal form is not possible to be seen by any ordinary man. Kṛṣṇa must give one the power to see it.