Transliteration
athavā bahunaitena kiṃ jñānena tavārjuna |
viṣṭabhyāham-idaṃ kṛtsnam ekāṃśena sthito jagat || 42 ||
Translation
But of what use to you is all this extensive knowledge[of forms], O Arjuna? I abide, sustaining this whole universe with but a fraction of Myself.
Purport
Arjuna wanted to know the forms of Bhagwan Shri Krishna and so Bhagwan Shri Krishna explained to him some of his manifestations.
But there is no end of the forms of Shri Krishna as he explained "there is no end to My divine manifestations" Sh#40. Here Bhagwan Shri Krishna here explains Arjuna for him has not such need to know all the forms as that might be beyond human capacity. What is important to know is that this entire universe is manifested by Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna already defined some of the forms which human can easily comprehend. To make the process of devotion easier for humans, Bhagwan Shri Krishna already incarnates and presents his divine plays. This is in fact one of the purposes of Incarnation. Through Incarnation, Bhagwan Shri Krishna make it easier for a human to understand. Knowing the acts of Shri Krishna, reading about it, discussing them is thus one of the most important processes for the devotional life of a human. A human may not need to know the entire process of the universe to comprehend Bhagwan Shri Krishna, that's what Shri Krishna instructs to Arjuna.
