By special grace, Arjun has been shown the cosmic form that is not easily seen by anyone. Arjun has realized that Shree Krishna is much more than merely his friend. His divine personality encompasses unlimited universes. Yet, he is not attracted by the infinite opulences and is not interested in doing
aiśhwarya
bhakti
of God Almighty. Rather, he prefers seeing that Almighty Lord in the human form, so that he can relate to him as before, like a friend. Addressing Lord Krishna as
sahasra-bāho
, meaning “thousand-armed one,” Arjuna is now specifically requesting to see the
chatur-bhuj rūp
, or four- armed form of Lord Krishna.
In the four-armed form, Shree Krishna appeared before Arjun on another occasion as well. When Arjun tied Ashwatthama, the killer of the five sons of Draupadi and brought him before her, at that time Shree Krishna revealed himself in his four-armed form.
niśhamya bhīma-gaditaṁ draupadyāśh cha chatur-bhujaḥ
ālokya vadanaṁ sakhyur idam āha hasanniva
(Śhrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.7.52)[v23]
“The four-armed Shree Krishna heard the statements of Bheem, Draupadi, and others. Then he looked toward his dear friend Arjun and began smiling.” By requesting Shree Krishna to manifest in his four-armed form, Arjun is also confirming that the four-armed form of the Lord is non-different from his two-armed form.