प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च ।एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥श्रीभगवानुवाच ।इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥
Prakritim purusham chaiva kshetram kshetrajnameva chaEtadveditumichchhami jnanam jneyam cha keshavaShribhagavanuvachaIdam shariram kaunteya kshetramityabhidhiyateEtadyo vetti tam prahuh kshetrajna iti tadvidah
In this printing the chapter opens with a question from Arjuna: he wants to know about nature and spirit (prakṛti and puruṣa), the field and the knower of the field (kṣetra and kṣetrajña), and knowledge and what is to be known. Krishna answers. This body, he says, is called the field, and those who know these things call the one who knows it the knower of the field. Telang's and Besant's translations, and the commentaries of Shankara and Ramanuja, do not have Arjuna's question and begin the chapter with Krishna's answer (see the notes).
Explanation written for this site and checked against the cited edition. Free to quote with credit.
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत ।क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥
Kshetrajnam chapi mam viddhi sarvakshetreshu bharataKshetrakshetrajnayorjnanam yattajjnanam matam mama
Krishna tells Arjuna to know him as the knower of the field in all fields. Knowledge of the field and of its knower, he says, is in his view true knowledge. The schools read “know Me as the knower of the field” very differently (see the views).
तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक् च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत् ।स च यो यत्प्रभावश्च तत्समासेन मे शृणु ॥
Tatkshetram yachcha yadrik cha yadvikari yatashcha yatSa cha yo yatprabhavashcha tatsamasena me shrinu
Krishna asks Arjuna to hear in brief what the field is, what it is like, how it changes and where it comes from, and who its knower is and what powers it has.
ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक् ।ब्रह्मसूत्रपदैश्चैव हेतुमद्भिर्विनिश्चितैः ॥
Rishibhirbahudha gitam chhandobhirvividhaih prithakBrahmasutrapadaishchaiva hetumadbhirvinishchitaih
This, Krishna says, the sages (ṛṣis) have sung in many ways and in many separate Vedic hymns, and also in well-reasoned, decisive words about Brahman (brahma-sūtra-pada). Shankara takes these words to be the Upanishads' passages on Brahman; Ramanuja takes them to be the Brahma-sūtras.
महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च ।इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः ॥
Mahabhutanyahankaro buddhiravyaktameva chaIndriyani dashaikam cha pancha chendriyagocharah
Krishna lists what makes up the field: the great elements, the sense of “I” (ahaṅkāra), the intellect (buddhi), the unmanifest (avyakta), the ten senses and the one, the mind, and the five objects of the senses. The list continues in the next verse.
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतना धृतिः ।एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ॥
Ichchha dveshah sukham duhkham sanghatashchetana dhritihEtatkshetram samasena savikaramudahritam
Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body as a whole (saṅghāta), awareness and steadiness: this, Krishna says, is the field with its changes, described in brief.
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् ।आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥
Amanitvamadambhitvamahinsa kshantirarjavamAcharyopasanam shaucham sthairyamatmavinigrahah
Krishna now lists what he calls knowledge. It begins with humility, freedom from pretence, not harming (ahiṃsā), patience, straightforwardness, service of the teacher, purity, steadiness and self-control. The list runs on to 13.11.
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव च ।जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥
Indriyartheshu vairagyamanahankara eva chaJanmamrityujaravyadhiduhkhadoshanudarshanam
The list continues: detachment from the objects of the senses, freedom from ego, and seeing clearly the sorrow and flaw in birth, death, old age and illness.
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु ।नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥
Asaktiranabhishvangah putradaragrihadishuNityam cha samachittatvamishtanishtopapattishu
Further: freedom from clinging, not losing oneself in son, wife, home and the rest, and an even mind at all times, whether what one wants comes or what one does not want.
मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी ।विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥
Mayi chananyayogena bhaktiravyabhichariniViviktadeshasevitvamaratirjanasansadi
Further: unwavering devotion to Krishna, with a yoga that turns to nothing else; a liking for quiet, solitary places; and no taste for crowds.
अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् ।एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोऽन्यथा ॥
Adhyatmajnananityatvam tattvajnanarthadarshanamEtajjnanamiti proktamajnanam yadatonyatha
Finally: steady attention to knowledge of the self (adhyātma) and keeping in view the aim of knowing the truth. Krishna says that all this is called knowledge, and whatever is opposed to it is ignorance. So what Krishna calls knowledge here is a way of living, not only a set of facts.
ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वाऽमृतमश्नुते ।अनादिमत्परं ब्रह्म न सत्तन्नासदुच्यते ॥
Jneyam yattatpravakshyami yajjnatvamritamashnuteAnadimatparam brahma na sattannasaduchyate
Krishna says he will now describe what is to be known (jñeya), knowing which one gains immortality. Telang and Besant translate the second line as the beginningless, supreme Brahman, called neither being (sat) nor non-being (asat). The schools divide and read the words of this line differently (see the views).
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् ।सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ॥
Sarvatah panipadam tatsarvatokshishiromukhamSarvatah shrutimalloke sarvamavritya tishthati
Krishna describes it: it has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads and faces everywhere, and ears everywhere. It stands in the world, enfolding all.
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् ।असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ॥
Sarvendriyagunabhasam sarvendriyavivarjitamAsaktam sarvabhrichchaiva nirgunam gunabhoktri cha
Krishna goes on. It shines through the workings of all the senses, he says, yet has no senses. It is unattached, yet supports all. It is free of the qualities (guṇas), yet it experiences them. The verse holds these opposites together to show that it is not like any thing we know.
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च ।सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ॥
Bahirantashcha bhutanamacharam charameva chaSukshmatvattadavijneyam durastham chantike cha tat
Krishna says it is outside and inside all beings; it is what moves and what does not move. Because it is so subtle, it cannot be grasped. It is far away, and it is near.
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् ।भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ॥
Avibhaktam cha bhuteshu vibhaktamiva cha sthitamBhutabhartri cha tajjneyam grasishnu prabhavishnu cha
Krishna says it is undivided, yet it seems to stand divided among beings. It is to be known as the one who sustains beings, who takes them back into itself and who brings them forth.
ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते ।ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ॥
Jyotishamapi tajjyotistamasah paramuchyateJnanam jneyam jnanagamyam hridi sarvasya vishthitam
Krishna says it is the light even of all lights, and is said to be beyond darkness. It is knowledge, what is to be known, and what is reached through knowledge, and it is seated in the heart of everyone.
इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः ।मद्भक्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भावायोपपद्यते ॥
Iti kshetram tatha jnanam jneyam choktam samasatahMadbhakta etadvijnaya madbhavayopapadyate
Krishna sums up: in this way the field, knowledge and what is to be known have been told in brief. His devotee who understands this, he says, becomes fit to attain his state of being.
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि ।विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसंभवान् ॥
Prakritim purusham chaiva viddhyanadi ubhavapiVikaranshcha gunanshchaiva viddhi prakritisambhavan
Krishna tells Arjuna to know that nature (prakṛti) and spirit (puruṣa) are both without beginning, and that all changes (vikāras) and qualities (guṇas) are born of nature. The schools explain the “changes” and “qualities” differently (see the views).
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते ।पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते ॥
Karyakaranakartritve hetuh prakritiruchyatePurushah sukhaduhkhanam bhoktritve heturuchyate
Krishna says that nature is called the cause of the body and its instruments (kārya and karaṇa) and of their working, and the spirit is called the cause of the experience of pleasure and pain. This is how Shankara, Ramanuja and Telang read the line. The 1922 edition prints kāraṇa (“cause”), and Besant translates “causes and effects”; Shankara notes this other reading too (see the views).
पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान् ।कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु ॥
Purushah prakritistho hi bhunkte prakritijangunanKaranam gunasangosya sadasadyonijanmasu
Krishna says that the spirit, seated in nature, experiences the qualities born of nature. Its attachment to those qualities, he says, is the cause of its births in higher and lower forms of life.
उपद्रष्टाऽनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः ।परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः ॥
Upadrashtanumanta cha bharta bhokta maheshvarahParamatmeti chapyukto dehesminpurushah parah
Krishna says that the supreme spirit (puruṣa para) in this body is called the witness (upadraṣṭā), the one who permits, the supporter, the experiencer, the great lord (maheśvara), and also the supreme self (paramātmā). The schools differ on who this is (see the views).
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह ।सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥
Ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih sahaSarvatha vartamanopi na sa bhuyobhijayate
Krishna says that whoever knows spirit and nature, together with the qualities, in this way is not born again, whatever his way of life.
ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना ।अन्ये साङ्ख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे ॥
Dhyanenatmani pashyanti kechidatmanamatmanaAnye sankhyena yogena karmayogena chapare
Krishna names different paths. Some see the self within themselves, by themselves, through meditation (dhyāna). Others see it through the path of knowledge (sāṅkhya-yoga), and others through the yoga of action (karma-yoga).
अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्तः श्रुत्वाऽन्येभ्य उपासते ।तेऽपि चातितरन्त्येव मृत्युं श्रुतिपरायणाः ॥
Anye tvevamajanantah shrutvanyebhya upasateTepi chatitarantyeva mrityum shrutiparayanah
Others again do not know this themselves, but hear it from others and worship. Krishna says that they too, devoted to what they have heard, go beyond death.
यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्त्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम् ।क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञसंयोगात्तद्विद्धि भरतर्षभ ॥
Yavatsanjayate kinchitsattvam sthavarajangamamKshetrakshetrajnasanyogattadviddhi bharatarshabha
Krishna says that whatever being comes into existence, moving or unmoving, comes from the union of the field and the knower of the field. He calls Arjuna Bharatarshabha, best of the Bharatas.
समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् ।विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥
Samam sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam parameshvaramVinashyatsvavinashyantam yah pashyati sa pashyati
Krishna says that the one who sees the supreme Lord dwelling equally in all beings, not perishing when they perish, truly sees.
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् ।न हिनस्त्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥
Samam pashyanhi sarvatra samavasthitamishvaramNa hinastyatmanatmanam tato yati param gatim
Krishna says that one who sees the same Lord present equally everywhere does not harm the self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal. Telang's footnote explains “harming the self” as failing to know it truly.
प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः ।यः पश्यति तथाऽऽत्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति ॥
Prakrityaiva cha karmani kriyamanani sarvashahYah pashyati tathatmanamakartaram sa pashyati
Krishna says that the one who sees that all actions are done in every way by nature alone, and that the self is not the doer, truly sees.
यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति ।तत एव च विस्तारं ब्रह्म संपद्यते तदा ॥
Yada bhutaprithagbhavamekasthamanupashyatiTata eva cha vistaram brahma sampadyate tada
Krishna says that when a person sees the separate existence of beings as resting in the One, and their spreading out as coming from it, then that person attains Brahman.
अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्माऽयमव्ययः ।शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥
AnaditvannirgunatvatparamatmayamavyayahSharirasthopi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
Krishna says that this imperishable supreme self, being without beginning and without qualities, neither acts nor is stained, even though it dwells in the body. He calls Arjuna Kaunteya, son of Kunti.
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते ।सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथाऽऽत्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥
Yatha sarvagatam saukshmyadakasham nopalipyateSarvatravasthito dehe tathatma nopalipyate
Krishna gives an image. Space (ākāśa) is everywhere, yet because it is so subtle nothing stains it. In the same way, he says, the self present everywhere in the body is not stained.
यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः ।क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत ॥
Yatha prakashayatyekah kritsnam lokamimam ravihKshetram kshetri tatha kritsnam prakashayati bharata
Krishna gives another image. As the one sun lights up this whole world, he says, so the one who dwells in the field (kṣetrī) lights up the whole field.
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा ।भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं च ये विदुर्यान्ति ते परम् ॥
Kshetrakshetrajnayorevamantaram jnanachakshushaBhutaprakritimoksham cha ye viduryanti te param
Krishna closes the chapter. Those who, with the eye of knowledge, see the difference between the field and its knower, and the freeing of beings from nature, he says, reach the Supreme.