Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 13 (BG 11.13) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

11.13 तत्र there? एकस्थम् resting in one? जगत् the universe? कृत्स्नम् the whole? प्रविभक्तम् divided? अनेकधा in many groups? अपश्यत् saw? देवदेवस्य of the God of gods? शरीरे in the body? पाण्डवः son of Pandu? तदा then.Commentary Tatra There -- in the Cosmic Form.Anekadha Many groups -- gods? manes? men and other species of beings.Arjuna beheld all forms as the forms of the Lord? all heads as His heads? all eyes as His eyes? all hands as His hands? all feet as His feet? every part of every body as the limb of the Lords divine form. Wherever he looked he beheld nothing but the Lord. He got mystic divine knowledge.Sanjaya has given a truly graphic description of the Cosmic Form. Yet? it would be futile to grasp it with the finite mind. It is a transcendental vision? beyond the reach of the mind and senses. It has to be realised in Samadhi.

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

In this divine form, Arjuna beheld how the entire cosmos, in all its multiplicity and diversity, was gathered and established in one place. We have seen that the vision of the cosmic form is a sight perceived by a mind that does not function through the limitations of space and time—that is, the very concepts of space and time have dissolved. The vision of seeing the many within the one is not so much a matter of sensory perception as it is of intellectual comprehension. It is not that the entire universe has contracted and become the size of Lord Krishna's physical body. If Arjuna has gained the necessary understanding of the unity of the cosmos, and if he can perceive the world through the lens of that knowledge, then this is sufficient. A similar illustration may be drawn from modern science itself. In chemistry, substances are classified and studied systematically. From the study of the chemical elements of the world, we learn that the cosmos contains approximately one hundred and three elements. Through more subtle investigation, scientists have penetrated to the atom. Further division has revealed that the atom itself is composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons. When a scientist well-versed in this nature of the atom looks upon the manifold world, it becomes simple for him to understand that all these diverse materials are composed of atoms. In like manner, when Arjuna received this special knowledge through the causeless grace of Lord Krishna, he became capable of perceiving the entire universe within the body of the Divine. Observing the reactions occurring in Arjuna's body and mind upon witnessing this vision, Sanjaya carefully observed them and, describing what he witnessed, speaks thus: