Bhagavad-gītā 11.13

Explain simply

Speaker: Sañjaya

तत्रैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं प्रविभक्तमनेकधा ।
अपश्यद्देवदेवस्य शरीरे पाण्डवस्तदा ॥१३॥

tatraika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ
pravibhaktam anekadhā
apaśyad deva-devasya
śarīre pāṇḍavas tadā

Word for word (synonyms)

tatra
there
ekastham
one place
jagat
universe
kṛtsnam
completely
pravibhaktam
divided in
anekadhā
many kinds
apaśyat
could see
deva-devasya
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
śarīre
in the universal form
pāṇḍavaḥ
Arjuna
tadā
at that time

Translation

At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place although divided into many, many thousands.

Purport

The word tatra (there) is very significant. It indicates that both Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa were sitting on the chariot when Arjuna saw the universal form. Others on the battlefield could not see this form because Kṛṣṇa gave the vision only to Arjuna. Arjuna could see in the body of Kṛṣṇa many thousands of universes. As we learn from Vedic scriptures, there are many universes and many planets. Some of them are made of earth, some are made of gold, some are made of jewels, some are very great, some are not so great, etc. Sitting on his chariot, Arjuna could see all these universes. But no one could understand what was going on between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa.

What this verse teaches

Seeing everything in the universe at one place, Arjuna bows down.

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.