Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field
Verse 13.14
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम्।सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति।।13.14।।
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat sarvato ’kṣhi-śhiro-mukham sarvataḥ śhrutimal loke sarvam āvṛitya tiṣhṭhati
Word Meanings
sarvataḥ—everywhere; pāṇi—hands; pādam—feet; tat—that; sarvataḥ—everywhere; akṣhi—eyes; śhiraḥ—heads; mukham—faces; sarvataḥ—everywhere; śhruti-mat—having ears; loke—in the universe; sarvam—everything; āvṛitya—pervades; tiṣhṭhati—exists
Translation · English
With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds, enveloping all.
Deep Meaning · English
In this verse, Bhagavan Krishna describes the Universal Form of the Supreme Brahman (the Knower of the Field), moving beyond the limitations of individual identity. By stating that the Divine possesses hands, feet, eyes, and ears in every direction, Krishna is instructing Arjuna to recognize that the phenomenal world is not a collection of separate entities, but rather the unfolding of the One Consciousness through infinite forms. This is not a description of a physical deity with many limbs, but a metaphysical declaration of omnipresence; every action performed in the universe is, ultimately, the action of the Divine. This insight is the antidote to the ego-driven perception of separation. When one realizes that the 'Knower of the Field' pervasively dwells within and surrounds every manifestation, the seeker ceases to identify with the small, finite 'I' and begins to perceive the Divine presence acting everywhere. It shifts the practitioner's perspective from looking at the world as a place of external objects to viewing it as a seamless, sacred tapestry of the Supreme, leading to a state of constant, meditative awareness known as Jivanmukti.
The Divine is not a localized object, but the infinite, all-pervading consciousness that occupies and animates every aspect of existence simultaneously.
Connected Verses
Further explains that this Light of lights resides in the hearts of all, reinforcing the internal and external ubiquity of the Supreme.
Arjuna's vision of the Universal Form literally sees the 'countless hands, bellies, and eyes' that Krishna conceptually describes here.
Affirms that all beings exist in the Divine, yet the Divine is not limited by them, mirroring the omnipresent nature described in 13.14.
Validates the wisdom of the Mahatmas who realize that 'Vasudeva is everything,' connecting the conceptual omnipresence to the experiential reality of the devotee.
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