Arjuna Uvaacha:
Prakritim purusham chaiva kshetram
kshetrajnameva cha;
Etadveditumicchaami jnaanam jneyam cha
keshava. (1)
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.
Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Idam shareeram kaunteya
kshetramityabhidheeyate;
Etadyo vetti tam praahuh kshetrajna iti
tadvidah.(2)
The Blessed Lord said:
This body, O Arjuna, is called
the Field; he who knows it is called the Knower of the Field by those who know
of them, that is, by the sages.
Kshetrajnam chaapi maam viddhi
sarvakshetreshu bhaarata;
Kshetrakshetrajnayor jnaanam yattat jnaanam
matam mama.(3)
Do thou also know Me as the Knower of the
Field in all fields, O Arjuna! Knowledge of both the Field and the Knower of
the Field is considered by Me to be the knowledge.
Tat kshetram yaccha yaadrik cha yadvikaari
yatashcha yat;
Sa cha yo yatprabhaavashcha tatsamaasena me
shrinu.(4)
What the Field is and of what nature, what its
modifications are and whence it is, and also who He is and what His powers
are—hear all that from Me in brief.
Rishibhirbahudhaa geetam cchandobhirvividhaih
prithak;
Brahmasootrapadaishchaiva
hetumadbhirvinishchitaih. (5)
Sages have sung in many ways, in various
distinctive chants and also in the suggestive words indicative of the Absolute,
full of reasoning and decisive.
Mahaabhootaanyahankaaro buddhiravyaktameva
cha;
Indriyaani dashaikam cha pancha
chendriyagocharaah.(6)
The great elements, egoism, intellect and also
unmanifested Nature, the ten senses and one, and the five objects of the
senses,
Icchaa dweshah sukham duhkham
sanghaatashchetanaa dhritih;
Etat kshetram samaasena
savikaaramudaahritam. (7)
Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain,
the aggregate (the body), fortitude and intelligence—the
Field has thus been described briefly
with its modifications.
Amaanitwam adambhitwam ahimsaa
kshaantiraarjavam;
Aachaaryopaasanam shaucham
sthairyamaatmavinigrahah.(8)
Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury,
forgiveness, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness,
self-control,
Indriyaartheshu vairaagyamanahankaara eva
cha;
Janmamrityujaraavyaadhi duhkhadoshaanu
darshanam.(9)
Indifference to the objects of
the senses, also absence of egoism, perception of (or reflection on) the evil
in birth, death, old age, sickness and pain,
Asaktiranabhishwangah
putradaaragrihaadishu;
Nityam cha samachittatwam
ishtaanishtopapattishu.(10)
Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self
with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the
attainment of the desirable and the undesirable,
Mayi chaananyayogena
bhaktiravyabhichaarinee;
Viviktadesha sevitwam aratir janasamsadi.(11)
Unswerving devotion unto Me by
the Yoga of non-separation, resort to solitary places, distaste for the society
of men,
Adhyaatma jnaana nityatwam tattwa
jnaanaartha darshanam;
Etajjnaanamiti proktam ajnaanam
yadato’nyathaa. (12)
Constancy in Self-knowledge,
perception of the end of true knowledge—this is declared to be knowledge, and
what is opposed to it is ignorance.
Jneyam yattat pravakshyaami
yajjnaatwaa’mritamashnute;
Anaadimatparam brahma na
sattannaasaduchyate.(13)
I will declare that which has to
be known, knowing which one attains to immortality, the
beginningless supreme Brahman,
called neither being nor non-being.
Sarvatah paanipaadam tat sarvato’kshishiromukham;
Sarvatah shrutimalloke sarvamaavritya
tishthati.(14)
With hands and feet everywhere,
with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the
worlds, enveloping all.
Sarvendriyagunaabhaasam
sarvendriyavivarjitam;
Asaktam sarvabhricchaiva nirgunam
gunabhoktru cha.(15)
Shining by the functions of all the senses,
yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities,
yet their experiencer,
Bahirantashcha bhootaanaam acharam
charameva cha;
Sookshmatwaat tadavijneyam doorastham
chaantike cha tat.(16)
Without and within (all) beings,
the unmoving and also the moving; because of His subtlety, unknowable; and near
and far away is That.
Avibhaktam cha bhooteshu vibhaktamiva cha
sthitam;
Bhootabhartru cha tajjneyam grasishnu
prabhavishnu cha.(17)
And undivided, yet He exists as
if divided in beings; He is to be known as the supporter of beings; He devours
and He generates also.
Jyotishaamapi tajjyotistamasah
paramuchyate;
Jnaanam jneyam jnaanagamyam hridi sarvasya
vishthitam.(18)
That, the Light of all lights, is beyond
darkness; it is said to be knowledge, the Knowable and the goal of knowledge,
seated in the hearts of all.
Iti kshetram tathaa jnaanam jneyam choktam
samaasatah;
Madbhakta etadvijnaaya
madbhaavaayopapadyate.(19)
Thus the Field as well as knowledge and the
Knowable have been briefly stated. My devotee, knowing this, enters into My
Being.
Prakritim purusham chaiva viddhyaanaadee
ubhaavapi;
Vikaaraamshcha gunaamshchaiva viddhi
prakritisambhavaan. (20)
Know thou that Nature and Spirit
are beginningless; and know also that all modifications and qualities are born
of Nature.
Kaaryakaaranakartrutwe hetuh
prakritiruchyate;
Purushah sukhaduhkhaanaam bhoktritwe
heturuchyate.(21)
In the production of the effect
and the cause, Nature (matter) is said to be the cause; in the experience of
pleasure and pain, the soul is said to be the cause.
Purushah prakritistho hi bhungkte prakritijaan
gunaan;
Kaaranam gunasango’sya sadasadyoni janmasu.(22)
The soul seated in Nature
experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the
cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.
Upadrashtaanumantaa cha bhartaa bhoktaa
maheshwarah;
Paramaatmeti chaapyukto dehe’smin purushah
parah.(23)
The Supreme Soul in this body is also called
the spectator, the permitter, the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Lord and
the Supreme Self.
Ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih
saha;
Sarvathaa vartamaano’pi na sa
bhooyo’bhijaayate.(24)
He who thus knows Spirit and Matter, together
with the qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.
Dhyaanenaatmani pashyanti
kechidaatmaanamaatmanaa;
Anye saankhyena yogena karmayogena
chaapare.(25)
Some by meditation behold the
Self in the Self by the Self, others by the Yoga of knowledge, and others by
the Yoga of action.
Anye twevamajaanantah shrutwaanyebhya
upaasate;
Te’pi chaatitarantyeva mrityum
shrutiparaayanaah.(26)
Others also, not knowing thus,
worship, having heard of it from others; they, too, cross beyond death,
regarding what they have heard as the supreme refuge.
Yaavat sanjaayate kinchit sattwam
sthaavarajangamam;
Kshetrakshetrajnasamyogaat tadviddhi
bharatarshabha.(27)
Wherever a being is born,
whether it be unmoving or moving, know thou, O best of the
Bharatas (Arjuna), that it is
from the union between the Field and its Knower.
Samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshwaram;
Vinashyatswavinashyantam yah pashyati sa
pashyati.(28)
He sees, who sees the Supreme
Lord, existing equally in all beings,
the unperishing within the perishing.
Samam pashyan hi sarvatra
samavasthitameeshwaram;
Na hinastyaatmanaa’tmaanam tato yaati
paraam gatim.(29)
Because he who sees the same Lord dwelling
equally everywhere does not destroy the Self by the self, he goes to the
highest goal.
Prakrityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani
sarvashah;
Yah pashyati tathaa’tmaanam akartaaram sa
pashyati. (30)
He sees, who sees that all actions are
performed by Nature alone and
that the Self is actionless.
that the Self is actionless.
Yadaa bhootaprithagbhaavam ekastham
anupashyati;
Tata eva cha vistaaram brahma sampadyate
tadaa.(31)
When a man sees the whole variety of beings as
resting in the One, and spreading forth from That alone, he then becomes
Brahman.
Anaaditwaan nirgunatwaat paramaatmaayam
avyayah;
Shareerastho’pi kaunteya na karoti na
lipyate.(32)
Being without beginning and
devoid of (any) qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in
the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted!
Yathaa sarvagatam saukshmyaadaakaasham
nopalipyate;
Sarvatraavasthito dehe tathaatmaa nopalipyate.(33)
As the all-pervading ether is
not tainted because of its subtlety, so the Self seated everywhere in the body,
is not tainted.
Yathaa prakaashayatyekah kritsnam lokamimam
ravih;
Kshetram kshetree tathaa kritsnam
prakaashayati bhaarata.(34)
Just as the one sun illumines
the whole world, so also the Lord of the Field (the Supreme
Self) illumines the whole Field,
O Arjuna!
Kshetrakshetrajnayor evam antaram
jnaanachakshushaa;
Bhootaprakritimoksham cha ye vidur yaanti te
param.(35)
They who, through the eye of
knowledge, perceive the distinction between the Field and its Knower, and also
the liberation from the Nature of being, they go to the Supreme.
Hari Om Tat Sat
Iti Srimad Bhagavadgeetaasoopanishatsu
Brahmavidyaayaam
Yogashaastre Sri Krishnaarjunasamvaade
Kshetrakshetrajnavibhaagayogo Naama
Trayodasho’dhyaayah
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the
science of the Eternal, thescripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna
and Arjuna, ends the thirteenth discourse entitled:
In this discourse we have one of
the most significant, most illuminating, most inspiring and most mystical
portions of the Bhagavad Gita. The Lord gives us a wonderfully revealing
insight into the human individual. It is the metaphysics of man, the unknown.
The immortal Soul, with its physical embodiment, is the main theme of this
discourse. The supreme transcendental Spirit, which is the eternal substratum
beyond both, is also described in a wonderful manner. The knower of the Supreme
Reality is instantly liberated.
The blessed Lord tells us that
the knowledge of the Field and the Knower of the Field is the true knowledge.
This highest and the best knowledge grants us divine wisdom and spiritual illumination
that lead to divine beatitude. This body is the Field. The Immortal Soul
(yourself), dwelling in the body is the Knower of the Field. Verily, it is the
Supreme Being who has projected Himself and assumed the form of this Knower of
the Field within this body. This self is none other than That. Thus, Lord
Krishna explains the mystery of the individual soul dwelling within this mortal
body. This knowledge constitutes the main subject matter of all the scriptures
and the highest philosophical works.
The five elements, the ego, the
mind, intellect and the ten organs, desire and aversion and such factors
constitute the Field. Next follows a wonderful summing-up of what constitutes
true knowledge.Then follows the declaration of the Supreme Soul, the knowledge
of which grants us immortality. That Supreme Reality is the one universal
Essence present everywhere. It pervades all. It shines within the inmost
chambers of our heart, it is everything, it is the one seer, the witness, the guide,
sustainer, experiencer and Lord of all. One who knows this mystery is not bound
by activity even in the midst of life. When we perceive this supreme Presence
dwelling in all beings we cannot injure anyone. Krishna asks us to see and know
the difference between the Field (body or Prakriti) and the Knower of the Field
(Spirit or Purusha), and thus reach the Self. This is the teaching and the message
of this illuminating discourse.
