Bhagavad Gita 11.20
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 20 of 55 · Arjuna's Journey
द्यावापृथिव्योरिदमन्तरं हि व्याप्तं त्वयैकेन दिशश्च सर्वाः | दृष्ट्वाद्भुतं रूपमुग्रं तवेदं लोकत्रयं प्रव्यथितं महात्मन् ||२०||
dyāvā-pṛthivyoḥ idam antaram hi vyāptaṃ tvayaikena diśaś ca sarvāḥ | dṛṣṭvādbhutaṃ rūpam ugraṃ tavedam loka-trayaṃ pravyathitaṃ mahātman || 20 ||
You alone fill the space between heaven and earth — three worlds tremble beholding Your marvellous, awful form!
Word by word (3)
- dyāvā-pṛthivyoḥ idam antaram hi vyāptam tvayā ekena diśaḥ ca sarvāḥ
- — This space between heaven and earth — and all the directions — is filled by You alone · dyāvā-pṛthivyoḥ = of heaven and earth (dual genitive of dyāvā = heaven/sky + pṛthivī = earth; a Vedic dvandva compound for the two fundamental poles of the cosmos; dyāvā-pṛthivī = 'the two — sky and earth' — the most ancient Indian expression for the totality of the manifest world). idam antaram = this space in between (idam = this; antara = space between, interval; idam antaram = 'this space-between, this intermediate space' = all of visible space, the region between sky and earth = the cosmos we inhabit). hi = indeed, verily (emphatic particle confirming what Arjuna is declaring). vyāptam = filled, pervaded (past passive participle of vi + √āp = to fill, to pervade; vyāpta = 'filled, pervaded throughout' — the same root as V7.9's sarasāṃ vṛṣṇināṃ vyāpya sthitaḥ; vyāptam = 'thoroughly filled'). tvayā = by You (instrumental singular — 'by You, through You'). ekena = by the one alone (ekena = 'by one alone, by the single' — emphatic: the entire intermediate space is filled by the ONE divine alone, not by multiple agents). diśaś ca sarvāḥ = and all the directions (diśas = directions; sarvāḥ = all; all ten directions: the four cardinal + four ordinal + up + down = the totality of spatial orientation). V11.20's vyāptam tvayaikena is the direct sensory confirmation of V7.4-V7.5's vyāpya teaching: the divine pervades all space. Now Arjuna sees it directly.
- dṛṣṭvā adbhutam rūpam ugram tava idam loka-trayam pravyathitam mahātman
- — Having seen Your marvellous and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling, O Great Being! · dṛṣṭvā = having seen (gerund of √dṛś = to see; dṛṣṭvā = 'having seen, after seeing'). adbhutam = marvellous, wonderful (adbhuta = same as V11.6's āścaryāṇi; adbhuta = 'extraordinary, beyond ordinary expectation'). rūpam = form. ugram = terrible, awe-inspiring (ugra = 'fierce, terrible, awesome, powerful' — from √uj = to be strong; ugra = 'the powerful, the awe-inspiring, the fierce'; ugra is not merely frightening but carries the Sanskrit aesthetic quality of raudra [fury] and vīra [heroic power] combined). tava idam = Your this (genitive + demonstrative). loka-trayam = the three worlds (loka = world; traya = three; loka-traya = 'the three worlds' — in Indian cosmology: earth [bhūḥ] + atmosphere [bhuvaḥ] + heaven [svaḥ]; or: earth + mid-world + upper-world; the triloky/trilokī = the three realms that constitute the entire universe). pravyathitam = trembling (pra = intensely + vyathita = troubled/agitated — from vi + √yath = to stagger; pravyathita = 'greatly agitated, intensely trembling, thrown into trembling'). mahātman = O Great Being (same as V11.12's mahātmanaḥ — the vocative form; mahā = great; ātman = Self/Being; mahātman = 'O Great Soul, O Great Being'). 'Having seen Your marvellous and terrible form — the three worlds are trembling.' V11.20 introduces the terrifying dimension: the vision that was marvellous (adbhuta) is also ugra (terrible/fierce). From V11.20 onward, Arjuna's response shifts from appreciation to awe-and-terror — the transition into the most overwhelming phase of the vision.
- [dyāvā-pṛthivī and the three worlds — cosmological frame]
- — V11.20's cosmic geography: the three worlds trembling · V11.20's loka-trayam pravyathitam (the three worlds trembling) introduces one of the most important elements of Ch.11's vision: the cosmic form's presence causes the entire universe to tremble. This trembling (pravyathita) of the three worlds is not a geological event — it is the existential trembling of all beings in all realms recognizing the overwhelming presence of the absolute. The Vedic tradition knows three levels: (1) pṛthivī (earth-realm = the physical), (2) antarikṣa (intermediate realm = the atmospheric/psychological), (3) dyaus (heaven-realm = the celestial/divine). V11.20's dyāvā-pṛthivī (heaven and earth) + loka-traya (three worlds) = all levels of existence simultaneously recognizing and responding to the cosmic form. V11.20 is the first verse where the vision's impact on the three worlds is stated — from V11.20-V11.25, the terror dimension will intensify, culminating in V11.25's Arjuna asking for mercy.
You alone fill the space between heaven and earth and all the directions. Seeing this wondrous and terrible form of Yours, the three worlds tremble, O Great Being.
A modern analogy
This verse's image of the three worlds trembling (loka-trayam pravyathitam) parallels Rudolf Otto's concept of the 'tremendum' in 'The Idea of the Holy' — the experience of the divine as mysterium tremendum (the mystery that causes trembling). Otto identifies two qualities of religious experience: the fascinosum (the attractive, the wonderful = this verse's marvellous quality, adbhuta) and the tremendum (the overwhelming, the terrifying = this verse's fierce, trembling quality, ugra and pravyathita). This verse is the Gita's most direct expression of the mysterium tremendum — the divine's overwhelming presence that causes universal trembling.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's fierce or awesome (ugram) form is not saying the divine is malevolent or cruel. The fierce quality is the overwhelming power that transcends all ordinary categories of safe or manageable. Like standing too close to a waterfall or an erupting volcano: the power is not directed AT you but the sheer scale is overwhelming. The fierceness here is cosmic awe at the scale that exceeds all boundaries. The three worlds 'trembling' is existential recognition, not a physical earthquake.
Take with you
- This verse's image of being filled by the One alone (vyāptam tvayaikena) suggests an omnipresence practice: there is no direction (all directions, diśaḥ sarvāḥ) that is not filled by the divine. The practice: wherever you are right now — whatever space you inhabit — it is filled (vyāpta) by the divine. Not just sacred spaces or meditation halls. The office, the traffic jam, the difficult conversation. Filled by the one divine alone — everywhere.
- This verse's pairing of marvellous (adbhuta) and fierce (ugra) at once suggests a complexity practice: the cosmic form is BOTH wonderful AND terrible at the same time. This is not a contradiction — it is the complete nature of the overwhelming real. The practice: identify one situation or person in your life that is simultaneously wonderful AND terrible. Resist the impulse to resolve the tension into one or the other. Let both be true simultaneously.
- This verse's trembling (pravyathita) teaches an appropriate response to the overwhelming: even the three worlds tremble at this vision. Trembling is the appropriate physical response to the genuinely overwhelming. The practice: when you feel the trembling quality in the face of something genuinely immense (a great work, a profound loss, an overwhelming beauty) — don't suppress it. It teaches: the three worlds tremble; you may too.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
This space betwixt heaven and earth and all the quarters are filled by Thee alone; having seen this, Thy marvellous and awful Form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O Great-souled One. [4]
filling the universe with splendor. Thou alone fillest the quarters and this space between heaven and earth. [6]
Doth to warm life surprise / Thy Universe. The worlds are filled with wonder [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, ego — these eight are the divisions of My lower nature.
Tusked mouths blazing like fires of Time — losing all direction, all peace; be gracious, O Deveśa, O World's Abode!
Intellect, wisdom, patience, truth, calm, restraint, joy, pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness — all arise from Me.
Gods' hosts enter You; some join palms in fear — great seers and Siddhas sing 'Svasti!' and praise You with full hymns!
Many mouths, eyes, arms, bellies, terrible tusks — Your vast form terrifies the worlds; I too tremble!
Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Jayadratha, Karṇa — all already slain by Me! You kill them. Fear not — fight! You shall conquer!
Verse 20 of 55 · back to Chapter 11