Sanskrit
लेलिह्यसे ग्रसमानः समन्तात् लोकान्समग्रान्वदनैर्ज्वलद्भिः । तेजोभिरापूर्य जगत्समग्रम् भासस्तवोग्राः प्रतपन्ति विष्णो ॥
lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāt lokān samagrān vadanair jvaladbhiḥ tejobhir āpūrya jagat samagram bhāsas tavogrāḥ pratapanti viṣṇo
Translation
On every side, all-swallowing, fiery-tongued, Thou lickest up mankind, devouring all; The glory filleth space: the universe Is burning, Vishnu, with Thy blazing rays.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
“Lelihyase” — Thou lickest — pushes the imagery past teeth and jaws into outright appetite, a verb of relish rather than mere mechanism. And the direct address lands on “Viṣṇo,” Vishnu by name, the same identification verse 24 already made — this cosmic body isn’t generic divinity, it’s specifically the preserver-god’s form turned devourer, appetite and sustaining power revealed as two faces of one thing. Scale has now fully taken over from detail: it isn’t warriors anymore, it’s “jagat samagram,” the entire universe, on fire with his radiance.