Chapter 13

क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञविभागयोग

The Field and Its Knower (Kṣetrakṣetrajñavibhāgayoga)

Arjuna asks about nature and spirit, the field and its knower. Krishna explains that the body is the field, the one who is aware of it is the knower, and he lists the qualities such as humility and patience that make up true knowledge.

You are the one who observes the body and mind, not merely the body and mind.

13.1प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च।Arjuna says to Krishna: I want to understand prakriti (material nature) and purusha (the conscious self), the field and the knower of the field, and also what true knowledge is and what is worth knowing.
13.2इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते।Krishna tells Arjuna: this body is called the field. The one who knows this body, who is aware of it, is called the knower of the field by those who understand these matters.
13.3क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत।Krishna says: know that I am also the knower in every field, in every body. Understanding both the field and its knower is what I consider real knowledge.
13.4तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक् च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत्।Krishna says: hear from me briefly what this field is, what it is like, how it changes, where it comes from, and who the knower is and what power the knower has.
13.5ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक्।Krishna says: this truth has been sung by sages in many ways, in different Vedic hymns, and also set out in the reasoned, well-settled verses of the Brahma Sutras.
13.6महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च।Krishna lists what makes up the field: the five great elements, the sense of 'I', the intellect, unmanifest nature, the ten senses and the mind, and the five objects the senses grasp.
13.7इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतनाधृतिः।Krishna continues: desire, dislike, pleasure, pain, the body as a whole, consciousness and steadiness. This, in brief, is the field along with its changes.
13.8अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम्।Krishna now describes knowledge as a way of living: humility, not showing off, not harming others, patience, straightforwardness, serving one's teacher, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control.
13.9इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव च।Krishna continues: detachment from sense pleasures, freedom from ego, and clearly seeing the suffering that comes with birth, death, old age and sickness.
13.10असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु।Krishna continues: not clinging, not being entangled with children, spouse, home and the like, and keeping a steady mind whether wanted or unwanted things happen.
13.11मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी।Krishna continues: unwavering devotion to me with an undivided heart, a liking for quiet, solitary places, and no craving for crowds and busy gatherings.
13.12अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम्।Krishna concludes the list: constant focus on knowledge of the self, and keeping sight of the goal of knowing the truth. This is called knowledge; whatever is opposite to it is ignorance.
13.13ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वाऽमृतमश्नुते।Krishna says: I will now tell you what is to be known, knowing which one reaches immortality. It is the supreme Brahman (the ultimate reality), without beginning, said to be neither 'being' nor 'non-being'.
13.14सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम्।Krishna says: it has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads and faces everywhere, ears everywhere in the world. It stands enveloping everything.
13.15सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्।Krishna says: it shines through the qualities of all the senses yet has no senses of its own; it is unattached yet supports everything; it is beyond the gunas (nature's three qualities) yet experiences them.
13.16बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च।Krishna says: it is outside and inside all beings, both still and moving. Being so subtle, it cannot be grasped; it is far away and also very near.
13.17अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम्।Krishna says: it is undivided, yet seems divided among beings. Know it as the one that sustains all beings, and also the one that absorbs and brings them forth.
13.18ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते।Krishna says: it is the light of all lights, said to be beyond darkness. It is knowledge, what is to be known, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the heart of everyone.
13.19इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः।Krishna says: so I have briefly described the field, knowledge, and what is to be known. My devotee who understands this becomes fit to reach my state of being.
13.20प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि।Krishna says: know that both prakriti (nature) and purusha (the conscious self) are without beginning. And know that all changes and the gunas (nature's three qualities) arise from nature.
13.21कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते।Krishna says: nature is said to be the cause of the body, the senses and all activity. The conscious self is said to be the cause of experiencing pleasure and pain.
13.22पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्।Krishna says: the self, dwelling in nature, experiences the qualities born of nature. Its attachment to these qualities is the reason for its births in good and bad wombs.
13.23उपद्रष्टाऽनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः।Krishna says: the supreme being in this body is called the witness, the one who permits, the sustainer, the experiencer, the great Lord, and also the Supreme Self.
13.24य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैःसह।Krishna says: whoever truly understands the conscious self and nature with its qualities is not born again, whatever way of life they live.
13.25ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना।Krishna says: some see the self within themselves through meditation, others through the path of knowledge, and others through the path of selfless action.
13.26अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्तः श्रुत्वाऽन्येभ्य उपासते।Krishna says: others, who do not know these paths, worship after hearing from others. They too, devoted to what they have heard, cross beyond death.
13.27यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्त्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम्।Krishna tells Arjuna: whatever comes into being, moving or unmoving, know that it arises from the union of the field and the knower of the field.
13.28समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम्।Krishna says: one who sees the Supreme Lord present equally in all beings, the undying within the dying, truly sees.
13.29समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम्।Krishna says: seeing the same Lord present equally everywhere, such a person does not harm the self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal.
13.30प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः।Krishna says: one who sees that all actions are done by nature alone, and that the self is not the doer, truly sees.
13.31यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति।Krishna says: when a person sees the separate existence of all beings as resting in the One, and their spreading out from that One alone, then they attain Brahman (the ultimate reality).
13.32अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः।Krishna says: because it has no beginning and is beyond nature's qualities, this Supreme Self is unchanging. Though it dwells in the body, it neither acts nor is stained.
13.33यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते।Krishna says: just as the all-pervading space is not stained because it is so subtle, so the self, present everywhere in the body, is never stained.
13.34यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः।Krishna tells Arjuna: just as the one sun lights up this whole world, so the knower of the field lights up the entire field.
13.35क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा।Krishna concludes: those who, with the eye of wisdom, see the difference between the field and its knower, and how beings are freed from nature, reach the Supreme.