Bhagavad Gita 11.13: meaning and translation
Chapter 11: Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga. Sanjaya says
There, Sanjaya says, Arjuna (the Pāṇḍava) saw the whole universe, divided in many ways, standing as one in the body of the God of gods.
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Bhagavad Gita 11.13
तत्रैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं प्रविभक्तमनेकधा ।अपश्यद्देवदेवस्य शरीरे पाण्डवस्तदा ॥
Tatraikastham jagatkritsnam pravibhaktamanekadhaApashyaddevadevasya sharire pandavastada
tatraikasthaṃ jagatkṛtsnaṃ pravibhaktamanekadhā |apaśyaddevadevasya śarīre pāṇḍavastadā ||
Our explanation There, Sanjaya says, Arjuna (the Pāṇḍava) saw the whole universe, divided in many ways, standing as one in the body of the God of gods.
हिंदी अर्थ संजय कहते हैं कि वहाँ अर्जुन (पांडव) ने देवों के देव के शरीर में पूरे जगत को एक जगह स्थित देखा, जो अनेक प्रकार से बँटा हुआ था।
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Word by word
- तत्र tatra · there (indeclinable) Dictionary: tatra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 2 “in that place, there”
- एकस्थम् ekastham · resting in one (compound (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: eka-stha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 229, col. 3 “standing together, remaining in the same place, conjoined, combined, assembled”
- जगत् jagat · the universe (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: jagat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 408, col. 1 “the world, esp. this world, earth”
- कृत्स्नम् kṛtsnam · whole (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: kṛtsna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 304, col. 3 “all, whole, entire”
- प्रविभक्तम् pravibhaktam · divided (past participle (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: pra-vibhakta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 692, col. 1 “separated, divided, distributed”
- अनेकधा anekadhā · in many ways (indeclinable) Dictionary: an-ekadhā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 42, col. 2 “in various ways, often”
- अपश्यत् apaśyat · saw (imperfect, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. paś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 611, col. 2 “to see, behold, look at, observe, perceive, notice”
- देवदेवस्य devadevasya · of the God of gods (compound (masculine), genitive singular) Dictionary: deva-deva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 493, col. 2 “'the god of gods'”
- शरीरे śarīre · in the body (noun (neuter), locative singular) Dictionary: śarīra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1057, col. 3 “the body, bodily frame”
- पाण्डवः pāṇḍavaḥ · the Pandava (Arjuna) (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: pāṇḍava, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 616, col. 2 “a son or descendant of Pāṇḍu”
- तदा tadā · then (indeclinable) Dictionary: tadā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 3 “at that time, then, in that case”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 93.
There the son of Pându then observed in the body of the god of gods the whole universe (all) in one, and divided into numerous1 (divisions).
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Gods, manes, men, and so forth. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 93.
There the son of Pându then observed in the body of the god of gods the whole universe (all) in one, and divided into numerous1 (divisions).
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Gods, manes, men, and so forth. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 105.
There the whole universe, divided into manifold parts, was beheld by Pândava standing in One, in the Body of the God of Gods.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 217.
There in the body of the God of gods, the son of Pându then saw the whole universe resting together, with its manifold divisions.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 93. Bhagavad Gita 11.13.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 105. Bhagavad Gita 11.13.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 217. Bhagavad Gita 11.13.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 11.13: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/11/13/
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Bhagavad Gita 11.13
तत्रैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं प्रविभक्तमनेकधा ।
अपश्यद्देवदेवस्य शरीरे पाण्डवस्तदा ॥
“There the son of Pându then observed in the body of the god of gods the whole universe (all) in one, and divided into numerous (divisions).”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 93, public domain)
“There the whole universe, divided into manifold parts, was beheld by Pândava standing in One, in the Body of the God of Gods.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 105, public domain)
“There in the body of the God of gods, the son of Pându then saw the whole universe resting together, with its manifold divisions.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 217, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/11/13/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 11.13?
Sanjaya speaks this verse, in chapter 11 (Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 27, 2026.