For Eternal Beginners
द्यावा पृथिव्योः इदम् अन्तरम् हि
व्याप्तम् त्वयैकेन दिशश्च सर्वाः ।
दृष्ट्वाद्भुतम् रूपम् उग्रम् तवेदम्
लोकत्रयम् प्रव्यथितम् महात्मन् ॥ २० ॥
dyAvA pRthivyoH idam antaram hi
vyAptam tvayaikena dizazca sarvAH |
dRSTvAdbhutam rUpam ugram tavedam
lokatrayam pravyathitam mahAtman || 20 ||
महात्मन् [mahAtman] Mighty Lord, द्यावा पृथिव्योः अन्तरम् इदम् [dyAvA pRthivyoH antaram idam] the space that spans the earth and heavenly bodies व्याप्तम् हि [vyAptam hi] is indeed pervaded त्वया एकेन [tvayA ekena] by You दिशश्च सर्वाः [dizazca sarvAH] along with all the directions. लोकत्रयम् [lokatrayam] Three types of people प्रव्यथितम् [pravyathitam] are greatly disturbed दृष्ट्वा [dRSTvA] by looking at तव [tava] Your अद्भुतम् [adbhutam] astounding उग्रम् [ugram] and formidable इदम् रूपम् [idam rUpam] form in this way.
‘The space that spans the earth and heavenly bodies’ indicates everything above us and everything below. The space above and below contains the entire universe. In this Shloka, Arjuna addressed the Lord as the Mighty One, whose volition cannot be deciphered.
Arjuna says- the whole of this space and all possible directions are pervaded by You.
Your form is astounding and fearsome with an unending expanse. It has extreme splendor, great intensity and ferociousness. On seeing this, three types of people are greatly disturbed- the favorable, unfavorable and the indifferent. They include all those who came to see the war, such as the various powers, the generous, the selfish, the demons, the benevolent, the sages and elders - all of them are extremely frightened.
All these people were granted divine vision similar to the one granted by the Lord to Arjuna. It was for all of them to see His form, which is the abode of the entire universe. With what intent was it given? It was given to demonstrate the Lord’s complete and absolute sovereignty to Arjuna.
The demonstration is that the Lord can give whatever he wishes to anyone without any motive. He inspires awe in everyone, no matter how powerful they are or what they think of the Lord.
The Lord encompasses the whole world with all His activities.
In response to this, Arjuna says – Mighty Lord, looking at this form of Yours, which is both astounding and fearsome, all kinds of people are greatly disturbed.