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 finite, localized existence. By attributing all human limbs and sensory organs to the Divine—hands everywhere, eyes everywhere, faces everywhere—Krishna is teaching Arjuna that the individual ego is merely a fragmented ripple in an infinite ocean of consciousness. This is not a description of a physical, giant body, but a metaphysical declaration that the Divine is the sole animating reality behind every form in the universe. Everything that acts, perceives, or exists is actually the manifestation of that single, all-encompassing Knower. This insight is essential for the seeker to transcend the sense of separation. When we perceive the world as a collection of separate objects, we are caught in the 'Field' (Kshetra). However, realizing that the same Divine presence pervades all things allows the practitioner to see the sacred in the mundane. It is the ultimate antidote to the 'me vs. you' duality, inviting the devotee to recognize that the hands reaching out in service and the eyes looking back in love are, in truth, the hands and eyes of the Divine. To realize this is to realize that one's own existence is intrinsically linked to the Absolute.
The Divine is not a distant ruler but the omnipresent consciousness that acts through every hand, perceives through every eye, and listens through every ear in the universe.
Connected Verses
Further clarifies that this Knower of the Field, while appearing divided into many, is actually the one indivisible existence.
Arjuna's vision of the Universal Form literally confirms the poetic description of having infinite limbs, eyes, and faces.
States that the entire world is pervaded by the Lord in His unmanifest form, mirroring the pervasive nature described in 13.14.
Affirms that the enlightened soul sees everything as Vasudeva (the Lord), aligning with the vision of omnipresence.
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