Bhagavad Gita 11.13
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 13 of 55
तत्रैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं प्रविभक्तमनेकधा | अपश्यद्देवदेवस्य शरीरे पाण्डवस्तदा ||१३||
tatra ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam pravibhaktam anekadhā | apaśyad deva-devasya śarīre pāṇḍavas tadā || 13 ||
There the son of Pandu saw the whole universe — in all its vast diversity — resting in one in God's body.
Word by word (3)
- tatra ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam pravibhaktam anekadhā
- — There, the entire universe — divided into manifold parts — gathered into one · tatra = there (locative adverb — 'there, in that place' = in the divine's body, in the cosmic form). ekastham = gathered into one (eka = one + stha = standing/placed — the SAME compound as V11.7's iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam paśyādya). jagat = the world, the universe (from √gam = to move; jagat = 'what moves, the world, all existence'). kṛtsnam = entire, complete (kṛtsna = 'whole, entire' — the SAME word as V11.7's jagat kṛtsnam). pravibhaktam = divided into parts (pra = intensely + vi = apart + √bhaj = to divide; pravibhakta = 'thoroughly divided, distributed manifold'). anekadhā = in manifold ways (aneka = many; dhā = suffix = 'in the manner of'; anekadhā = 'in many ways, manifoldly'). V11.13 is the fulfillment verse of V11.7's promise: V11.7 said iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam paśyādya (HERE TODAY behold the whole universe gathered into one) → V11.13 confirms tatra ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam (THERE the whole universe gathered into one). The key difference: V11.7 used paśya (imperative — BEHOLD!); V11.13 uses apaśyat (imperfect — he SAW). The promised vision is now confirmed as realized. Both verses use the SAME compound ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam — the word-for-word fulfillment of the promise.
- apaśyat deva-devasya śarīre pāṇḍavaḥ tadā
- — Then Arjuna SAW — in the body of the God of gods · apaśyat = he saw (imperfect tense of √paś = to see; apaśyat = 'he saw, he perceived' — the imperfect marks the actual realization of the promised vision; no longer the imperative paśya [behold!] but the completed action apaśyat [he saw]). deva-devasya = of the God of gods (deva = god, divine; genitive: deva-devasya = 'of the God of gods' = the supreme divine among all divine forms; in V11.15 Arjuna will use this same term deva-deva as a vocative). śarīre = in the body (locative of śarīra = body; śarīre = 'in the body' — the entire universe is present within the divine's śarīra = the cosmic body). pāṇḍavaḥ = the Pāṇḍava, Arjuna (patronymic = 'son of Pāṇḍu'; pāṇḍavaḥ = Arjuna, identifying him by lineage). tadā = then, at that time (temporal adverb — 'then, at that moment' — marking the specific moment of vision-realization). 'Then, in the body of the God of gods, Arjuna SAW...' V11.13 confirms that the divyaṃ cakṣuḥ (divine eye, V11.8) has functioned as promised: Arjuna's perception now reaches the level where the entire universe (jagat kṛtsnam) is visible as gathered into one (ekastham) within the divine body (śarīre). The pragmatic philosophical significance: the vision is not imagination or internal state — it is apaśyat (he SAW). The Sanskrit imperfect marks actual perception, not metaphor.
- [ekastham fulfillment note]
- — V11.13 as the mirror-fulfillment of V11.7 · V11.7's promise (iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam paśyādya = HERE, TODAY, behold the whole universe gathered into one) is fulfilled word-for-word in V11.13 (tatra ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam apaśyat = THERE the whole universe gathered into one — he SAW). The vocabulary matches precisely: ekastham (gathered into one) + jagat kṛtsnam (the entire universe). The only change: iha (here) → tatra (there); paśya (BEHOLD! imperative) → apaśyat (he SAW, imperfect indicative). This promise-fulfillment structure — vocabulary matching across V11.7 and V11.13 — is the Gita's narrative artistry: the teacher's promise and the student's realized vision use the identical language to mark: what was promised IS what was received. The teaching worked.
There, in the body of the God of gods, the son of Pāṇḍu then saw the whole universe, divided in countless ways, gathered into one.
A modern analogy
This verse's vision of the entire universe gathered into one yet manifoldly divided (ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam pravibhaktam anekadhā) parallels the fractal structure of reality: a fractal contains infinite detail at every scale (this is the manifold division, anekadhā) AND exhibits the same pattern at every level of magnification (this is the unified structure, ekastham). The Mandelbrot set contains endless diversity AND is one coherent mathematical structure. The vision here: the cosmic form IS the universe's fractal — infinite diversity at every level of examination, held within one unified pattern.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's manifold division (pravibhaktam anekadhā) is not saying the universe loses its diversity by being seen as one (ekastham). The universe IS diverse (anekadhā = manifold) AND it is simultaneously unified (ekastham = one). The vision does not collapse diversity into uniformity. It shows: diversity is real AND it is held within the unity of the divine body. Neither the diversity is false nor the unity is incomplete. This is the Advaita philosophical position on difference: multiplicity is real at the phenomenal level; unity is real at the ground level; this verse shows BOTH simultaneously.
Take with you
- The word 'he saw' (apaśyat) works here as a completion marker: the whole arc — from Arjuna's first yearning to behold the Cosmic Ruler's form, through the granting of the divine eye, to this moment of beholding the entire universe in God's body — is a complete teaching cycle. Arjuna desired the vision, asked appropriately, was prepared, received it, and will go on to respond. This teaches: the complete learning cycle has specific stages — desire, then appropriate request, then preparation, then receiving, then integration. Identify where you are in a current learning cycle. What stage comes next?
- This verse's pairing of the one (ekastham) with the manifold (anekadhā) works as an organizational principle: the universe is manifold AND one. In your life or work: identify one domain where diverse elements might be seen as unified within one larger principle. The vision here shows that all the diverse parts are already one — the question is whether you have the seeing-capacity to perceive the unity within the diversity.
- This verse's phrase 'in the body of the God of gods' (deva-devasya śarīre) teaches where the divine is found: the entire universe is within the divine's body — not above the earth, not beyond the stars, not after death. HERE, in the body of the divine, everything is present. The divine's body IS the universe. This teaches: you are already within the divine's body. The question is only whether you perceive it.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
There in the body of the God of gods, the son of Pandu then saw the whole universe resting in one, with its manifold divisions. [4]
The son of Pandu then beheld within the body of the God of gods the whole universe in all its vast variety. [6]
So did Pandu's Son behold / All this universe enfold / All its huge diversity / Into one vast shape, and be [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Here in My body, O Guḍākeśa — behold the whole universe, moving and unmoving, gathered into one!
Your words are true as declared; yet I yearn to behold Your Īśvara-form — the Cosmic Ruler in all power.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Verse 13 of 55 · back to Chapter 11