Khushal Jethava Gita Gyan · Chapter 13 of 18
क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञविभागयोग
The Yoga of the Field and Its Knower · 35 verses
The body is a field, and there is one who knows the field. Krishna maps both: what the field is made of, what real knowledge looks like (humility first), and what is to be known, which has hands and eyes everywhere and is the light of all lights. Nature acts; the Self only witnesses, untouched, like space in a pot, like the one sun that lights the whole world.
Verses 13.1–13.7
Arjuna asks about nature and the Person, the field and its knower. Krishna answers: this body is the field, and the one who knows it is the knower of the field (13.2). I am the knower in every field. The field itself is the elements, the senses, the mind, desire and aversion, pleasure and pain.
Arjuna said
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च।
एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥
prakṛtiṃ puruṣaṃ caiva kṣetraṃ kṣetrajñameva ca
etadveditumicchāmi jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ ca keśava
Nature and the Person, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and what is to be known: these I wish to understand, Keshava.
Krishna said
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते।
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥
idaṃ śarīraṃ kaunteya kṣetramityabhidhīyate
etadyo vetti taṃ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tadvidaḥ
This body, son of Kunti, is called the field; the one who knows it is called the knower of the field by those who know.
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत।
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥
kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetrakṣetrajñayorjñānaṃ yattajjñānaṃ mataṃ mama
Know me also as the knower of the field in all fields, Bharata. Knowledge of the field and its knower: that, I hold, is true knowledge.
तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक् च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत्।
स च यो यत्प्रभावश्च तत्समासेन मे श्रृणु ॥
tatkṣetraṃ yacca yādṛk ca yadvikāri yataśca yat
sa ca yo yatprabhāvaśca tatsamāsena me śrṛṇu
Hear from me briefly what the field is, what it is like, how it changes, where it comes from, and who its knower is and what his powers are.
ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक्।
ब्रह्मसूत्रपदैश्चैव हेतुमद्भिर्विनिश्चितैः ॥
ṛṣibhirbahudhā gītaṃ chandobhirvividhaiḥ pṛthak
brahmasūtrapadaiścaiva hetumadbhirviniścitaiḥ
It has been sung by the sages in many ways, in various distinct hymns, and in the reasoned and conclusive aphorisms of the Brahma Sutras.
महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च।
इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः ॥
mahābhūtānyahaṅkāro buddhiravyaktameva ca
indriyāṇi daśaikaṃ ca pañca cendriyagocarāḥ
The great elements, ego, intellect and the unmanifest; the ten senses and the mind, and the five objects of the senses;
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतनाधृतिः।
एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ॥
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṅghātaścetanādhṛtiḥ
etatkṣetraṃ samāsena savikāramudāhṛtam
desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body, awareness and steadfastness: this, in brief, is the field with its changes.
Verses 13.8–13.12
What is real knowledge? Not information, but character: humility, no pretence, non-violence, patience, honesty, service to the teacher, steadiness, detachment, seeing clearly that birth, age and sickness come to all (13.8–12). Everything else is ignorance.
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम्।
आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥
amānitvamadambhitvamahiṃsā kṣāntirārjavam
ācāryopāsanaṃ śaucaṃ sthairyamātmavinigrahaḥ
Humility, lack of pretence, non-violence, patience, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadiness, self-control;
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव च।
जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥
indriyārtheṣu vairāgyamanahaṅkāra eva ca
janmamṛtyujarāvyādhiduḥkhadoṣānudarśanam
detachment from sense objects, absence of ego, and seeing clearly the pain and flaw in birth, death, old age and sickness;
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु।
नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥
asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu
nityaṃ ca samacittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu
non-attachment, not clinging to children, spouse, home and the like, and constant evenness of mind in the face of the wanted and the unwanted;
मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी।
विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥
mayi cānanyayogena bhaktiravyabhicāriṇī
viviktadeśasevitvamaratirjanasaṃsadi
unwavering devotion to me with undivided yoga, a liking for solitary places and no taste for crowds;
अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम्।
एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोन्यथा ॥
adhyātmajñānanityatvaṃ tattvajñānārthadarśanam
etajjñānamiti proktamajñānaṃ yadatonyathā
constancy in knowledge of the Self and insight into the purpose of knowing the truth: this is called knowledge; whatever is other than this is ignorance.
Verses 13.13–13.19
What is to be known has hands and feet everywhere, eyes and faces everywhere (13.14). It shines through the senses yet has none, is inside and outside, far and near, undivided yet seeming divided. It is the light of all lights, seated in every heart.
ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वाऽमृतमश्नुते।
अनादिमत्परं ब्रह्म न सत्तन्नासदुच्यते ॥
jñeyaṃ yattatpravakṣyāmi yajjñātvā'mṛtamaśnute
anādimatparaṃ brahma na sattannāsaducyate
I will tell you what is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality: the beginningless supreme Brahman, said to be neither being nor non-being.
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम्।
सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ॥
sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tatsarvato'kṣiśiromukham
sarvataḥ śrutimalloke sarvamāvṛtya tiṣṭhati
With hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads and faces everywhere, ears everywhere, it stands enveloping everything in the world.
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्।
असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ॥
sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitam
asaktaṃ sarvabhṛccaiva nirguṇaṃ guṇabhoktṛ ca
Shining through the functions of all the senses, yet free of all senses; unattached, yet supporting all; beyond the qualities, yet experiencing the qualities.
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च।
सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ॥
bahirantaśca bhūtānāmacaraṃ carameva ca
sūkṣmatvāttadavijñeyaṃ dūrasthaṃ cāntike ca tat
Outside and inside all beings, unmoving and also moving; too subtle to be known; far away, and also near.
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम्।
भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ॥
avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktamiva ca sthitam
bhūtabhartṛ ca tajjñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca
Undivided, yet it seems divided among beings; it is to be known as the sustainer of beings, their devourer and their creator.
ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते।
ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ॥
jyotiṣāmapi tajjyotistamasaḥ paramucyate
jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ jñānagamyaṃ hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam
It is the light of all lights, said to be beyond darkness: knowledge, what is to be known, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the heart of all.
इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः।
मद्भक्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भावायोपपद्यते ॥
iti kṣetraṃ tathā jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ coktaṃ samāsataḥ
madbhakta etadvijñāya madbhāvāyopapadyate
Thus the field, knowledge and what is to be known have been briefly described. My devotee, understanding this, comes to my state of being.
Verses 13.20–13.27
Nature and the Person are both beginningless. Nature does all the doing; the Person experiences, and gets entangled by attachment to nature's qualities. Yet the supreme Person in the body is the witness, the one who consents (13.23). Some see this by meditation, some by knowledge, some by action, some simply by listening.
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि।
विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसंभवान् ॥
prakṛtiṃ puruṣaṃ caiva viddhyanādī ubhāvapi
vikārāṃśca guṇāṃścaiva viddhi prakṛtisaṃbhavān
Know that nature and the Person are both without beginning; and know that the changes and the qualities are born of nature.
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते।
पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते ॥
kāryakāraṇakartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtirucyate
puruṣaḥ sukhaduḥkhānāṃ bhoktṛtve heturucyate
Nature is said to be the cause in producing body and senses; the Person is said to be the cause in experiencing pleasure and pain.
पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्।
कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु ॥
puruṣaḥ prakṛtistho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijānguṇān
kāraṇaṃ guṇasaṅgo'sya sadasadyonijanmasu
The Person, dwelling in nature, experiences the qualities born of nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of its births in good and evil wombs.
उपद्रष्टाऽनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः।
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः ॥
upadraṣṭā'numantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ
paramātmeti cāpyukto dehe'sminpuruṣaḥ paraḥ
The supreme Person in this body is called the witness, the one who consents, the sustainer, the experiencer, the great lord, and the supreme Self.
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैःसह।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥
ya evaṃ vetti puruṣaṃ prakṛtiṃ ca guṇaiḥsaha
sarvathā vartamāno'pi na sa bhūyo'bhijāyate
Whoever knows the Person, and nature with its qualities, in this way is not born again, however they may live.
ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना।
अन्ये सांख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे ॥
dhyānenātmani paśyanti kecidātmānamātmanā
anye sāṃkhyena yogena karmayogena cāpare
Some see the Self in the self by the self through meditation; others by the yoga of knowledge; and others by the yoga of action.
अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्तः श्रुत्वाऽन्येभ्य उपासते।
तेऽपि चातितरन्त्येव मृत्युं श्रुतिपरायणाः ॥
anye tvevamajānantaḥ śrutvā'nyebhya upāsate
te'pi cātitarantyeva mṛtyuṃ śrutiparāyaṇāḥ
Yet others, not knowing this, worship after hearing from others; they too, devoted to what they have heard, cross beyond death.
यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्त्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम्।
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञसंयोगात्तद्विद्धि भरतर्षभ ॥
yāvatsañjāyate kiñcitsattvaṃ sthāvarajaṅgamam
kṣetrakṣetrajñasaṃyogāttadviddhi bharatarṣabha
Whatever comes into being, moving or unmoving, know that it arises from the union of the field and the knower of the field, best of the Bharatas.
Verses 13.28–13.35
Whoever sees the imperishable Lord equally in all perishing beings truly sees (13.28). Nature acts; the Self does not. As space is in every pot yet never stained by any, so the Self in every body is never stained (13.33). As the one sun lights the whole world, the knower lights the whole field.
समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम्।
विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥
samaṃ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṃ parameśvaram
vinaśyatsvavinaśyantaṃ yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
Whoever sees the supreme Lord dwelling equally in all beings, the imperishable within the perishing, truly sees.
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम्।
न हिनस्त्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥
samaṃ paśyanhi sarvatra samavasthitamīśvaram
na hinastyātmanā''tmānaṃ tato yāti parāṃ gatim
Seeing the same Lord established everywhere, one does not harm the Self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal.
प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः।
यः पश्यति तथाऽऽत्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति ॥
prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ
yaḥ paśyati tathā''tmānamakartāraṃ sa paśyati
Whoever sees that all actions are done by nature alone, and that the Self is not the doer, truly sees.
यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति।
तत एव च विस्तारं ब्रह्म सम्पद्यते तदा ॥
yadā bhūtapṛthagbhāvamekasthamanupaśyati
tata eva ca vistāraṃ brahma sampadyate tadā
When one sees the separate existence of beings as resting in the One, and spreading out from it alone, one attains Brahman.
अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः।
शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥
anāditvānnirguṇatvātparamātmāyamavyayaḥ
śarīrastho'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
Being without beginning and beyond the qualities, this imperishable supreme Self, though dwelling in the body, son of Kunti, neither acts nor is stained.
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते।
सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथाऽऽत्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥
yathā sarvagataṃ saukṣmyādākāśaṃ nopalipyate
sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathā''tmā nopalipyate
As all-pervading space, because of its subtlety, is never stained, so the Self, present everywhere in the body, is never stained.
यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः।
क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत ॥
yathā prakāśayatyekaḥ kṛtsnaṃ lokamimaṃ raviḥ
kṣetraṃ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṃ prakāśayati bhārata
As the one sun lights up this whole world, so the Lord of the field lights up the whole field, Bharata.
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा।
भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं च ये विदुर्यान्ति ते परम् ॥
kṣetrakṣetrajñayorevamantaraṃ jñānacakṣuṣā
bhūtaprakṛtimokṣaṃ ca ye viduryānti te param
Those who, with the eye of knowledge, see the difference between the field and its knower, and the freeing of beings from nature, reach the Supreme.