Chapter 13 · 35 verses

Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga: The Field and Its Knower

अध्याय 13 — क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञविभागयोग

The difference between the body (the field) and the soul that knows it, and the virtues that make up true knowledge.

शरीर (क्षेत्र) और उसे जानने वाली आत्मा (क्षेत्रज्ञ) का भेद, और वे गुण जो सच्चे ज्ञान को बनाते हैं।

Verse 13.1प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च …Arjuna asks Krishna to explain nature and the conscious self, the field and the knower of the field, and what knowledge is and what is worth knowing.
Verse 13.2इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते …Krishna says this body is called the 'field', and the one who knows it is called the 'knower of the field' by those who understand.
Verse 13.3क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत …Krishna says he is the knower present in every field, in all bodies, and that true knowledge is understanding both the field and its knower.
Verse 13.4तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक् च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत् …Krishna asks Arjuna to hear briefly what the field is, what it is like, how it changes and where it comes from, and who the knower is and what his powers are.
Verse 13.5ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक् …This truth has been sung by sages in many ways, in various Vedic hymns, and in the well-reasoned, conclusive verses of the Brahma Sutras.
Verse 13.6महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च …The field is made of the great elements, the sense of 'I', the intellect, unmanifest nature, the ten senses and the mind, and the five objects of the senses —
Verse 13.7इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतनाधृतिः …— along with desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body as a whole, awareness and willpower. This, in short, is the field with its changes.
Verse 13.8अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् …Krishna begins listing what true knowledge looks like: humility, not showing off, non-violence, patience, honesty, serving a teacher, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control.
Verse 13.9इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव च …Knowledge also means detachment from sense pleasures, freedom from ego, and clearly seeing the suffering and flaws of birth, death, old age and disease.
Verse 13.10असक्ितरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु …It means not clinging to or getting entangled with children, spouse, home and the like, and keeping an even mind whether wanted or unwanted things happen.
Verse 13.11मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्ितरव्यभिचारिणी …It means steady, undivided devotion to Krishna, a liking for quiet places, and no craving for crowds and social gatherings.
Verse 13.12अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् …It means constant focus on knowledge of the self and seeing the purpose of knowing the truth. This is called knowledge; whatever is opposite is ignorance.
Verse 13.13ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वाऽमृतमश्नुते …Krishna will now describe what is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality: the beginningless supreme Brahman, which is called neither being nor non-being.
Verse 13.14सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् …That reality has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads and faces everywhere, ears everywhere; it exists enveloping everything in the world.
Verse 13.15सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् …It shines through the workings of all the senses yet has no senses of its own; unattached, it supports all; beyond the qualities of nature, it still experiences them.
Verse 13.16बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च …It is outside and inside all beings, unmoving and moving; too subtle to be grasped, it is both far away and very near.
Verse 13.17अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् …Though undivided, it seems divided among beings. Know it as the sustainer of all beings, the one who absorbs them and the one who brings them forth.
Verse 13.18ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते …It is the light of all lights, beyond darkness; it is knowledge, what is to be known and the goal of knowledge, seated in the heart of everyone.
Verse 13.19इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः …Thus the field, knowledge and what is to be known have been briefly described. Krishna's devotee who understands this becomes fit to reach his nature.
Verse 13.20प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि …Know that both nature (prakriti) and the conscious self (purusha) are without beginning, and that all changes and the three qualities arise from nature.
Verse 13.21कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते …Nature is said to be the cause behind the body, its instruments and all action, while the conscious self is said to be the cause of experiencing pleasure and pain.
Verse 13.22पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान् …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.
Verse 13.23उपद्रष्टाऽनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः …In this body there is also the supreme being, called the Supreme Self, who is the witness, the one who permits, the supporter, the experiencer and the great Lord.
Verse 13.24य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैःसह …One who truly understands the self and nature along with its qualities is not born again, no matter how they live.
Verse 13.25ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना …Some see the self within themselves through meditation, others through the path of knowledge, and others through the path of selfless action.
Verse 13.26अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्तः श्रुत्वाऽन्येभ्य उपासते …Others, who do not know these paths, worship by hearing from others; they too, devoted to what they have heard, cross beyond death.
Verse 13.27यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्त्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम् …Whatever comes into being, moving or unmoving, know that it arises from the union of the field and the knower of the field.
Verse 13.28समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् …One who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling equally in all beings, imperishable within the perishable, truly sees.
Verse 13.29समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् …Seeing the Lord equally present everywhere, such a person does not harm the self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal.
Verse 13.30प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः …One who sees that all actions are done by nature alone, and that the self is not the doer, truly sees.
Verse 13.31यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति …When one sees the many separate beings as resting in the One and spreading out from it, one then attains Brahman.
Verse 13.32अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः …Being beginningless and beyond the qualities of nature, this imperishable Supreme Self, though dwelling in the body, neither acts nor is stained.
Verse 13.33यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते …Just as all-pervading space is not stained because it is so subtle, the self present everywhere in the body is never stained.
Verse 13.34यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः …Just as the one sun lights up this whole world, the knower of the field lights up the entire field, giving life and awareness to the body.
Verse 13.35क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा …Those who see, with the eye of wisdom, the difference between the field and its knower, and how beings are freed from nature, reach the supreme.

Verse numbers follow the common 701-verse numbering, where Arjuna’s question that opens chapter 13 is counted as 13.1. Some editions omit it, so their chapter-13 numbers are one lower.