Bhagavad Gita 13.1 meaningThe field and the knower
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
Arjuna asks: “What is the body, and what is the one who knows the body?”
What it means
Arjuna says: “Krishna, I want to understand nature and spirit, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and what is to be known.”
Many editions leave out this verse — which is why the Gita is traditionally counted as 700 verses. This edition includes it, so Chapter 13 has 35.
The original Sanskrit
अर्जुन उवाच । प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च । एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥
arjuna uvāca prakṛtiṃ puruṣaṃ caiva kṣetraṃ kṣetrajñameva ca etadveditumicchāmi jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ ca keśava
Translations
Literal translation
Arjuna said: I wish to learn about Nature (matter) and the Spirit (soul), the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and that which ought to be known, O Kesava.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंद ी अनुवाद
अर्जुन ने कहा -- हे केशव ! मैं, प्रकृति और पुरुष, क्षेत्र और क्षेत्रज्ञ तथा ज्ञान और ज्ञेय को जानना चाहता हूँ।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 13.2Krishna says: “This body is called the field. The one who knows it — the awareness that experiences it — is called the knower of the field.”