The Divine is greater than personal control.
Arjuna speaks to Krishna
द्यावापृथिव्योरिदमन्तरं हिव्याप्तं त्वयैकेन दिशश्च सर्वाः |दृष्ट्वाद्भुतं रूपमुग्रं तवेदंलोकत्रयं प्रव्यथितं महात्मन् ||११-२०||
dyāvāpṛthivyoridamantaraṃ hi vyāptaṃ tvayaikena diśaśca sarvāḥ . dṛṣṭvādbhutaṃ rūpamugraṃ tavedaṃ lokatrayaṃ pravyathitaṃ mahātman ||11-20||
Use this verse when control anxiety rises.
Meaning
The space between heaven and earth and all directions are pervaded by You alone. Seeing Your wondrous and fierce form, the three worlds tremble, O great one.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna pervades all directions and evokes awe across the worlds.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
The Vishvarupa is not merely beautiful; it is also overwhelming. True vision can shake the ego because it reveals reality beyond personal control.
Read the traditional commentary
The whole expanse between heaven and earth, and all the directions of space, are vyaptam — pervaded by Krishna alone. There is no gap the Divine does not fill. And now, for the first time, a decisive word enters Arjuna's speech: ugram, terrible. The form is adbhutam, wonderful, but also fearsome, and at the sight of it loka-trayam pravyathitam — the three worlds tremble.
This is the great turning of the chapter. What began as wonder now shades into dread. Arjuna realises he is not the only one shaken; all of creation quakes before this revelation.
The all-pervading presence that fills every corner of space is not a comfortable abstraction but a living, overwhelming reality. The vision teaches that genuine encounter with the Infinite includes awe in its older sense — not mild admiration, but a trembling recognition of a power utterly beyond our scale.
In daily life
Let awe humble your need to control everything.
A person facing uncertainty can surrender instead of trying to control every outcome.
Try this today
Offer one uncontrollable situation to Krishna.
I surrender to Krishna’s vast presence.Reflect
Where am I resisting divine vastness?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘दृष्ट्वा अद्भुतम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on omnipresence, in other chapters
- Verse 10.33The Divine is the everlasting Time and all-seeing sustainer from whom nothing in the cosmos is ever hidden.
- Verse 2.35A defining moment of cowardice can undo the credit of a lifetime of courage — meet your critical hour with the same standard you have set for yourself all along.
- Verse 9.16When you see the Divine in every part of an act, life itself becomes a seamless, sacred offering.
- Verse 13.14The one supreme awareness perceives and acts through every being everywhere — it has no outside.
Swipe left for 11.21 · Reverence is the natural response to vastness.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 11.20
Who says Bhagavad Gita 11.20, and to whom?
Arjuna speaks to Krishna in verse 11.20, in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga (Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 11.20 mean?
The space between heaven and earth and all directions are pervaded by You alone. Seeing Your wondrous and fierce form, the three worlds tremble, O great one. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 11.20 for daily life?
Let awe humble your need to control everything. A person facing uncertainty can surrender instead of trying to control every outcome.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 11.20 mean?
द्यावापृथिव्योः — of heaven and earth; इदम् अन्तरम् — this space between; व्याप्तम् — pervaded / filled; त्वया एकेन — by You alone; दिशः च सर्वाः — and all the quarters.
Where does verse 11.20 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 20 of 55 in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga. The next verse is 11.21.