अर्जुन उवाच |
arjuna uvāca |
Arjuna asks Krishna to explain the nature of Prakriti (material nature), Purusha (the conscious spirit), the field (kshetra), the knower of the field (kshetrajna), knowledge itself, and the object of knowledge. This sets the framework for the entire chapter's discourse on matter and spirit.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
The Blessed Lord says: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field (kshetra). That conscious being who knows this field is called the knower of the field (kshetrajna) by those who know the truth. This foundational verse establishes the body-soul distinction central to all Vedantic philosophy.
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत |
kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata |
Krishna declares: Know Me also as the Knower in all fields, O Bharata. The knowledge of the field and the knower of the field — that I consider to be true knowledge. This is a pivotal verse where Krishna identifies Himself as the supreme consciousness present in every living body.
तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक्च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत् |
tatkṣetraṃ yacca yādṛkca yadvikāri yataśca yat |
Krishna says: What that field is, what its nature is, what its modifications are, whence it arises, and who the knower is and what his powers are — hear all this from Me in brief. This verse serves as a table of contents for the detailed exposition that follows.
ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक् |
ṛṣibhirbahudhā gītaṃ chandobhirvividhaiḥ pṛthak |
This truth about the field and its knower has been sung by the rishis in many ways, through various Vedic hymns distinctly, and especially through the well-reasoned and definitive aphorisms of the Brahma Sutras. Krishna establishes that this is not new teaching but eternal wisdom validated by scripture and logic.
महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च |
mahābhūtānyahaṅkāro buddhiravyaktameva ca |
The five great elements (earth, water, fire, air, space), the ego (ahankara), the intellect (buddhi), the unmanifest (avyakta/prakriti), the ten senses (five of knowledge and five of action), the mind (the eleventh), and the five sense objects (sound, touch, form, taste, smell) — these constitute the field.
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतना धृतिः |
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṅghātaścetanā dhṛtiḥ |
Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the aggregate body, consciousness (as reflected in the body), and fortitude — this field, along with its modifications, has been briefly described. These psychological and experiential aspects complete the picture of the material field.
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् |
amānitvamadambhitvamahiṃsā kṣāntirārjavam |
Humility, unpretentiousness, non-violence, patience, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, and self-control — Krishna begins the famous enumeration of twenty qualities that constitute true knowledge. These are not mere virtues but the very definition of jnana.
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव च |
indriyārtheṣu vairāgyamanahaṅkāra eva ca |
Dispassion toward sense objects, absence of ego, and the clear perception of the suffering inherent in birth, death, old age, and disease — these continue the enumeration of knowledge. Krishna identifies detachment and existential awareness as essential qualities of the wise.
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु |
asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu |
Non-attachment and absence of clinging to son, wife, home, and the rest; constant even-mindedness upon the occurrence of desirable and undesirable events — these qualities continue the definition of knowledge. Krishna teaches equanimity as the hallmark of the wise.
मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी |
mayi cānanyayogena bhaktiravyabhicāriṇī |
Unswerving devotion to Me through exclusive yoga, resort to solitary places, and distaste for the company of worldly crowds — Krishna includes devotion to God and contemplative solitude among the essential qualities of true knowledge.
अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् |
adhyātmajñānanityatvaṃ tattvajñānārthadarśanam |
Constancy in Self-knowledge, insight into the purpose of true knowledge — this is declared to be knowledge. Whatever is contrary to this is ignorance. Krishna concludes the famous enumeration by defining knowledge as these twenty qualities collectively, and everything opposite as ignorance.
ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वामृतमश्नुते |
jñeyaṃ yattatpravakṣyāmi yajjñātvāmṛtamaśnute |
I shall declare that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality. The beginningless Supreme Brahman is said to be neither being (sat) nor non-being (asat). This is one of the Gita's most profound metaphysical statements about the nature of ultimate reality.
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् |
sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tatsarvato'kṣiśiromukham |
With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere — That (Brahman) exists in the world, enveloping all. This verse, echoing the Svetasvatara Upanishad, depicts Brahman's all-pervading nature through vivid cosmic imagery.
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् |
sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitam |
Brahman appears to possess the qualities of all senses yet is devoid of all senses; It is unattached yet sustains all; It is beyond the gunas yet experiences the gunas. This verse describes Brahman through paradox — simultaneously transcendent and immanent, detached and involved.
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च |
bahirantaśca bhūtānāmacaraṃ carameva ca |
That Brahman exists outside and inside all beings, is the unmoving and also the moving, is unknowable due to its subtlety, and is both far away and very near. This verse deepens the paradoxical description of Brahman as simultaneously everywhere yet imperceptible, distant yet intimate.
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् |
avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktamiva ca sthitam |
Though undivided, Brahman appears as if divided among beings. That knowable one is the sustainer of all beings, the devourer, and the creator. Brahman is one reality appearing as the multiplicity of the world — sustaining, dissolving, and recreating all of existence.
ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते |
jyotiṣāmapi tajjyotistamasaḥ paramucyate |
That Brahman is the light of all lights, said to be beyond darkness. It is knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all beings. This luminous verse summarizes Brahman as the ultimate source of all illumination and the innermost presence in every heart.
इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः |
iti kṣetraṃ tathā jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ coktaṃ samāsataḥ |
Thus the field, knowledge, and the knowable have been briefly described. My devotee, understanding this, becomes worthy of attaining My nature. Krishna summarizes the three topics — kshetra, jnana, and jneya — and declares that his devotee who grasps these attains the divine state.
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि |
prakṛtiṃ puruṣaṃ caiva viddhyanādī ubhāvapi |
Know that both Prakriti (material nature) and Purusha (the conscious spirit) are beginningless. Know also that all modifications and the three gunas are born of Prakriti. This verse establishes the eternality of both matter and spirit, while attributing all change and qualities to material nature alone.
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते |
kāryakāraṇakartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtirucyate |
Prakriti is said to be the cause of the generation of the body and the senses (the effect and its instruments); the Purusha is said to be the cause of the experience of pleasure and pain. This verse precisely divides the functions: Prakriti acts, Purusha experiences.
पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान् |
puruṣaḥ prakṛtistho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijānguṇān |
The Purusha, seated in Prakriti, experiences the gunas born of Prakriti. Attachment to the gunas is the cause of the soul's birth in good and evil wombs. This verse explains the mechanism of bondage and rebirth: the soul's identification with the gunas of material nature.
उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः |
upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ |
The Supreme Purusha in this body is also called the witness (upadrashta), the permitter (anumanta), the sustainer (bharta), the experiencer (bhokta), the great Lord (Maheshvara), and the Supreme Self (Paramatma). This verse lists six names for the divine presence dwelling within every body.
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह |
ya evaṃ vetti puruṣaṃ prakṛtiṃ ca guṇaiḥ saha |
He who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti together with the gunas — though engaged in all manner of activities, he is not born again. This verse promises liberation to anyone who truly understands the nature of spirit, matter, and their interaction.
ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना |
dhyānenātmani paśyanti kecidātmānamātmanā |
Some perceive the Self within the self through meditation (dhyana yoga); others through the path of analytical knowledge (sankhya yoga); and still others through the path of selfless action (karma yoga). Krishna acknowledges multiple valid paths to Self-realization.
अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्तः श्रुत्वान्येभ्य उपासते |
anye tvevamajānantaḥ śrutvānyebhya upāsate |
Yet others, not knowing these paths, worship having heard from others. They too cross beyond death, devoted as they are to what they have heard. Even those who cannot practice meditation, analysis, or karma yoga but simply listen with faith and follow what they hear — they too are liberated.
यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्त्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम् |
yāvatsañjāyate kiñcitsattvaṃ sthāvarajaṅgamam |
Whatever being is born, whether moving or unmoving, know it to be from the union of the field and the knower of the field, O best of the Bharatas. Every living entity — from the smallest plant to the mightiest creature — exists because consciousness (kshetrajna) has united with matter (kshetra).
समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् |
samaṃ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṃ parameśvaram |
He who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling equally in all beings, the imperishable within the perishable — he truly sees. This is one of the Gita's most celebrated verses, defining true vision as the ability to perceive the eternal divine presence in all living beings.
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् |
samaṃ paśyanhi sarvatra samavasthitamīśvaram |
Seeing the Lord equally present everywhere, he does not destroy the Self by the self, and thus he attains the supreme goal. When one perceives God's equal presence in all beings, one naturally stops harming others — because harming another is harming the divine Self that is one's own deepest reality.
प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः |
prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ |
He who sees that all actions are performed entirely by Prakriti (material nature) and that the Self is not the doer — he truly sees. This verse restates the fundamental insight of this chapter: the Self witnesses but does not act; all action belongs to nature.
यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति |
yadā bhūtapṛthagbhāvamekasthamanupāśyati |
When one perceives the diverse existence of all beings as rooted in One, and their expansion as proceeding from that One alone, then one attains Brahman. The vision that sees unity as the source of all diversity is the direct path to realizing Brahman.
अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः |
anāditvānnirguṇatvātparamātmāyamavyayaḥ |
Being beginningless and without gunas, this imperishable Supreme Self, though dwelling in the body, O son of Kunti, neither acts nor is tainted. Despite residing within the physical body, the Supreme Self remains eternally pure, unaffected by bodily actions or their consequences.
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते |
yathā sarvagataṃ saukṣmyādākāśaṃ nopalipyate |
Just as the all-pervading space is not tainted because of its subtlety, similarly the Self, though present everywhere in the body, is not tainted. Krishna uses the beautiful analogy of space (akasha) — which pervades everything yet is touched by nothing — to illustrate the Self's purity.
यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः |
yathā prakāśayatyekaḥ kṛtsnaṃ lokamimṃ raviḥ |
Just as the one sun illumines this entire world, so does the Lord of the field (the Self) illumine the entire field, O Bharata. This famous analogy compares the Self to the sun — one consciousness illumines the entire body-mind field, just as one sun lights the whole world.
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा |
kṣetrakṣetrajñayorevamantaraṃ jñānacakṣuṣā |
Those who, with the eye of knowledge, perceive the distinction between the field and the knower of the field, and also the liberation of beings from Prakriti — they attain the Supreme. This closing verse of Chapter 13 declares that those who discern the difference between matter and spirit, and understand how beings are freed from material nature, reach the highest goal.