Bhagavad Gita 11.7
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 7 of 55
इहैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं पश्याद्य सचराचरम् | मम देहे गुडाकेश यच्चान्यद्द्रष्टुमिच्छसि ||७||
iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam paśyādya sa-carācaram | mama dehe guḍākeśa yac cānyad draṣṭum icchasi || 7 ||
Here in My body, O Guḍākeśa — behold the whole universe, moving and unmoving, gathered into one!
Word by word (3)
- iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam paśya adya sa-carācaram
- — Behold here, today, the whole universe — moving and unmoving — gathered into one · iha = here (locative adverb — 'here, in this place/body; in this very present moment'). ekasthaṃ = gathered into one, concentrated in one place (eka = one + stha = standing/placed; ekastha = 'standing in one place, concentrated in one, unified in one location'). jagat = the world, the universe (jagat = 'the moving one, the world' — from √gam = to move; jagat = the totality of what moves = all of existence). kṛtsnam = whole, complete, entire (kṛtsna = 'whole, entire, without exception' — the same word used in V10.42's 'idaṃ kṛtsnam ekāṃśena sthito jagat'; here: the ENTIRE jagat). paśya = BEHOLD (imperative). adya = today, now (adya = 'today, at this moment, right now'). sa-carācaram = together with the moving and unmoving (sa = with/together; cara = moving; acara = not moving; carācaram = 'the moving and the unmoving' = all animate and inanimate being; V10.39's 'na tat asti vinā yat syān mayā bhūtaṃ carācaram' — nothing moving or unmoving exists without Me — is now shown directly). 'Behold here, today, the whole universe — moving and unmoving — gathered into one (in My body).' V11.7 is the climax of Krishna's V11.5-V11.8 speech: not just the divine beings (V11.6) but the ENTIRE UNIVERSE (jagat kṛtsnam = the complete totality) gathered into one (ekasthaṃ) in the divine's body.
- mama dehe guḍākeśa yat ca anyat draṣṭum icchasi
- — In My body, O Guḍākeśa — and whatever else you desire to see · mama = My (genitive of aham). dehe = in the body (locative of deha = body; dehe = 'in the body, within the body'). guḍākeśa = O Guḍākeśa (one of Arjuna's epithets — guḍāka = sleep; īśa = lord; guḍākeśa = 'conqueror of sleep' OR 'one with thick/curly hair' — an epithet emphasizing Arjuna's awakened, alert state; used at key moments of the cosmic teaching: V10.20's aham ātmā guḍākeśa and now V11.7's mama dehe guḍākeśa). yat ca anyat = and whatever else (yat = which, whatever; ca = and; anyat = other, else; yat cānyat = 'and whatever else, and any other thing'). draṣṭum = to see (infinitive). icchasi = you desire (second person singular present of √iṣ = to desire; icchasi = 'you desire, you wish'). 'And whatever else you desire to see.' This is the divine's most generous statement in the entire vision-grant: not only will you see the entire universe (jagat kṛtsnam) in My body, but you may also see 'whatever else you desire' — the vision is complete and open-ended. The entire cosmos plus whatever Arjuna might additionally want — all available in this one body. V11.7 answers V11.3's draṣṭum icchāmi (I desire to see) perfectly: whatever you desire to see IS here.
- [ekastham note]
- — V11.7 and V10.42's ekāṃśena — two directions of the same teaching · V11.7's iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam (the entire universe gathered here into ONE in My body) and V10.42's viṣṭabhyāham idaṃ kṛtsnam ekāṃśena sthito jagat (I establish this entire world with ONE fraction of Myself) are the same teaching from opposite perspectives. V10.42: from the divine outward = one fraction of Mine sustains the whole universe. V11.7: from the universe inward = the whole universe is gathered into one in My body. Both kṛtsnam (complete, entire) + eka (one) = the One-Many teaching from inside and outside. Arjuna asked draṣṭum icchāmi (I desire to see) in V11.3; V11.7 completes the promise: what Ch.10's discourse taught (V10.42 = one fraction sustains all), Ch.11's vision will show directly (V11.7 = all gathered into one here).
Behold now, here in My body, O Guḍākeśa, the whole universe, moving and unmoving, gathered into one — and whatever else you wish to see.
A modern analogy
This verse's iha ekasthaṃ jagat kṛtsnam (the entire universe gathered into one here) parallels the holographic universe theory in physics: in a holographic universe, every region of space contains encoded within it the complete information of the entire universe — the whole is present at every part. The vision here: seeing the entire universe within the divine body is the direct experiential realization of this holographic principle — the whole IS present at and within the One.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's jagat kṛtsnam mama dehe (the whole universe in My body) is not saying the physical universe literally fits inside a human body. The 'body' (deha) here = the cosmic divine form (the Īśvara-form Arjuna yearned to behold — the Cosmic Ruler in all power) — not Krishna's human body but the Viśvarūpa (cosmic form) that, once shown as His supreme Īśvara-form, occupies all of space simultaneously. The vision requires divyaṃ cakṣuḥ (the divine eye that the natural eyes cannot supply) — it is not a physical sight but a divine-perceptual event that transcends ordinary spatial categories.
Take with you
- This verse's adya (TODAY, NOW) as an urgency practice: the divine says 'behold TODAY' — not eventually, not after more preparation, not in some future state of enlightenment. The vision is available NOW. The practice: in this moment, with this awareness, recognize: the divine IS here, the entire reality IS gathered in this present moment. What prevents the recognition is not lack of preparation but lack of attention. Adya = the urgency of presence.
- This verse's yat cānyad draṣṭum icchasi (and whatever else you desire to see) as a comprehensiveness contemplation: the divine offers not just the requested vision but 'whatever else you desire to see.' The practice: what are the things you most deeply desire to understand, to see clearly, to know? The divine's offer here is comprehensive — the divine is not a limited teacher who can only address one question. Name your deepest questions. They are included in the yat cānyad.
- This verse's sa-carācaram (moving and unmoving — ALL beings): the vision encompasses everything animate AND inanimate. Not just the spiritually elevated or the beautiful or the pleasant. The entire carācara spectrum = from the most dynamic to the most still. The practice: look at an inanimate object (a rock, a wall, a piece of furniture) with the same quality of divine recognition as you would apply to a living being. The acara (unmoving) is equally within the cosmic body.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
See now, O Gudakesha, in this My body, the whole universe centred in one — including the moving and the unmoving — and all else that thou desirest to see. [4]
Here in my body now behold, O Gudakesha, the whole universe animate and inanimate gathered here in one, and all things else thou hast a wish to see. [6]
Behold! this is the Universe! -- Look! what is live and dead / I gather all in one -- in Me! Gaze, as thy lips have said, / On GOD ETERNAL, VERY GOD! See Me! see what thou prayest! [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
But why such detail, O Arjuna? With a single fragment of Myself I establish and uphold this entire universe.
I am the seed of all beings, O Arjuna — there is no being, moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me.
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 7 of 55 · back to Chapter 11