The Divine pervades all beings.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् |सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ||१३-१४||
sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tatsarvato.akṣiśiromukham . sarvataḥ śrutimalloke sarvamāvṛtya tiṣṭhati ||13-14||
Use this verse before service or seva.
Meaning
That has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, ears everywhere; it exists pervading everything in the world.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Brahman pervades everything and functions through all beings.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This verse gives a cosmic vision of the Divine as all-pervading presence. Every hand that serves, every eye that sees, every ear that hears can become a reminder of the one reality pervading all.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna now describes the supreme knowable through vivid paradox: it has hands, feet, eyes, heads, and ears everywhere. The imagery, echoing the great hymns of the Veda, conveys that Brahman is not confined to one body or place but acts and perceives through all bodies at once. Whatever hand reaches, whatever eye sees, whatever ear hears throughout creation — it is the one reality working through countless forms.
The closing phrase 'enveloping all it abides' (sarvam avritya tishthati) gives the key: this universal presence both pervades and surrounds everything. We are tempted to picture God as a being somewhere among other beings, but Krishna stretches the imagination toward an all-pervading awareness that has no outside.
Every sense organ in every creature is, in truth, an instrument of the one Knower. This vision dissolves the illusion that consciousness is locked inside a single skull and opens us to the Divine present in and around all life.
In daily life
See service, perception, and listening as sacred.
Helping someone can be viewed as Divine hands working through you.
Try this today
Use your hands for one act of service.
The Divine works through all hands and hearts.Reflect
How can my hands become instruments of the Divine today?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘सर्वतः पाणिपादम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on oneness, in other chapters
- Verse 4.24When you see the divine in the doer, the deed, and the offering alike, every act becomes worship and leads to the infinite.
- Verse 15.12The light of sun, moon, and fire is a single divine radiance — God's splendor lighting the world.
- Verse 9.16When you see the Divine in every part of an act, life itself becomes a seamless, sacred offering.
- Verse 10.33The Divine is the everlasting Time and all-seeing sustainer from whom nothing in the cosmos is ever hidden.
Swipe left for 13.15 · The Divine supports all without being bound.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 13.14
Who says Bhagavad Gita 13.14, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 13.14, in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.14 mean?
That has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, ears everywhere; it exists pervading everything in the world. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 13.14 for daily life?
See service, perception, and listening as sacred. Helping someone can be viewed as Divine hands working through you.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 13.14 mean?
सर्वतः पाणिपादम् — with hands and feet everywhere; तत् सर्वतः अक्षि शिरः मुखम् — with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere; सर्वतः श्रुतिमत् — with ears everywhere; लोके — in the world; सर्वम् आवृत्य तिष्ठति — It exists enveloping all.
Where does verse 13.14 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 14 of 35 in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 13.15.