📘 Chapter 13: Kshetra-Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (The Field and the Knower)
What am I, really? Am I this body, this mind, or something more subtle? This chapter explores consciousness, matter, and the deep distinction between the seen and the seer.
🧠 Shlokas 1–10: What You Are — and What You're Not
🕉️ Shloka 1
Sanskrit:
अर्जुन उवाच |
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च |
एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥13.1॥
Translation (English):
Arjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to understand Nature and the Self (Purusha), the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and the object of knowledge.
Translation (Hindi):
अर्जुन ने कहा: हे केशव! मैं प्रकृति और पुरुष, क्षेत्र और क्षेत्रज्ञ, ज्ञान और ज्ञेय — इन सबको जानना चाहता हूँ।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
This is one of the most profound questions of all time — what is the body, what is the soul, and who am I *really*?
🪔 Modern Insight:
If you're curious about your true identity, you're already on a spiritual path. The journey begins with asking, not knowing.
🕉️ Shloka 2
Sanskrit:
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते |
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥13.2॥
Translation (English):
The Blessed Lord said: This body, O Kaunteya, is called the Field (Kshetra); one who knows this field is called the Knower of the Field (Kshetrajna) by the wise.
Translation (Hindi):
भगवान ने कहा: हे कौन्तेय! यह शरीर "क्षेत्र" कहलाता है, और जो इसे जानता है, उसे "क्षेत्रज्ञ" कहा जाता है — ऐसा ज्ञानीजन कहते हैं।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
The body is the field — a space of experience, karma, and perception. But **you** are not the field. You are the **knower** of it.
🪔 Modern Insight:
You are not your thoughts, your body, or your labels. You are the awareness behind them.
🕉️ Shloka 3
Sanskrit:
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत |
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥13.3॥
Translation (English):
Know Me, O Bharata, as the Knower in all fields (bodies). The knowledge of the field and the knower — this, I consider true knowledge.
Translation (Hindi):
हे भारत! सभी क्षेत्रों (शरीरों) में जो क्षेत्रज्ञ है, उसे तू मुझे जान। क्षेत्र और क्षेत्रज्ञ का यह ज्ञान ही मेरे मत में सच्चा ज्ञान है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Krishna reveals: the true self in all beings — the inner witness — is Divine. When you know the seer beyond the seen, you know Truth.
🪔 Modern Insight:
There's one light behind all lamps. See past the forms — feel the shared soul.
🕉️ Shloka 4
Sanskrit:
तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक्च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत् |
स च यो यत्प्रभावश्च तत्समासेन मे शृणु ॥13.4॥
Translation (English):
What the Field is, its nature, modifications, origin, and causes — and also who the Knower is and what powers it has — hear all this from Me in brief.
Translation (Hindi):
वह क्षेत्र क्या है, कैसा है, उसमें क्या विकार हैं, वह कहाँ से उत्पन्न हुआ है और वह कौन है — ये सब संक्षेप में मुझसे सुनो।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Krishna prepares Arjuna (and us) for a deeper unveiling — of how matter evolves and how consciousness remains untouched.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Understanding life starts with understanding the parts of your self — body, mind, senses, awareness. Learn your own manual.
🕉️ Shloka 5
Sanskrit:
ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक् |
ब्रह्मसूत्रपदैश्चैव हेतुमद्भिर्विनिश्चितैः ॥13.5॥
Translation (English):
This knowledge has been sung by many sages in various ways, expressed through sacred chants, and confirmed logically through the Brahma Sutras.
Translation (Hindi):
यह ज्ञान ऋषियों द्वारा अनेक रूपों में कहा गया है, विभिन्न वैदिक मंत्रों में वर्णित है, और तर्कयुक्त ब्रह्म सूत्रों द्वारा सिद्ध भी किया गया है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
True knowledge is universal — echoed in scriptures, reason, and experience. Wisdom isn’t limited to one source.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Truth leaves clues in every tradition, every teacher, every deep silence. Listen with an open heart.
🕉️ Shloka 6–7
Sanskrit:
महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च |
इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः ॥13.6॥
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं संघातश्चेतना धृतिः |
एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ॥13.7॥
Translation (English):
The Field (body) consists of: the five great elements, ego, intellect, the unmanifest, ten senses and the mind, and their objects. Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body, consciousness, and will — all these make up the Field with its modifications.
Translation (Hindi):
क्षेत्र में ये सम्मिलित हैं — पाँच महाभूत, अहंकार, बुद्धि, अव्यक्त, दस इन्द्रियाँ और मन, तथा उनके विषय; इच्छा, द्वेष, सुख, दुःख, शरीर, चेतना और धृति — यह सब क्षेत्र के विकार सहित विवरण है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Your body-mind system is complex — but it’s still just the “Field”. You are the one watching it all happen.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Your thoughts, likes, pains, and emotions are real — but they’re not *you*. You're the one *experiencing* them.
🕉️ Shloka 8–10
Sanskrit:
अमानित्वमदंभित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् |
आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥13.8॥
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहंकार एव च |
जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥13.9॥
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु |
नित्यं च समचित्तत्वं इष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥13.10॥
Translation (English):
Humility, non-pretentiousness, non-violence, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadiness, and self-control; detachment from sense-objects, absence of ego, awareness of the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease; non-attachment to family, constant even-mindedness in favorable and unfavorable situations — these are all considered knowledge.
Translation (Hindi):
अहंकार रहितता, दंभ का अभाव, अहिंसा, क्षमा, सरलता, गुरु की सेवा, शुद्धता, स्थिरता और आत्मसंयम; इन्द्रिय-विषयों से वैराग्य, अहंभाव का अभाव, जन्म-मृत्यु-जरा-रोग के दोषों का विवेकपूर्ण दर्शन; पुत्र, स्त्री, घर आदि में आसक्ति का अभाव, और अनुकूल-प्रतिकूल स्थितियों में समता — यह सब ज्ञान कहा गया है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Krishna redefines knowledge — not as book learning, but as **virtues lived**. The real wisdom is in how you move through life.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Your inner posture is your greatest credential. A humble, steady heart is the highest form of intelligence.
📜 Ancient Verse – Modern Wisdom
| Bhagavad Gita Verse | Modern-Day Relevance |
|---|---|
| 13.2 – “The body is the field” | You are not your body — you are the one who experiences the body. |
| 13.3 – “I am the Knower in all” | Consciousness is one — we are all expressions of the same awareness. |
| 13.10 – “Evenness in pain & gain” | Peace is not about avoiding chaos — it's about remaining centered through it. |
🧘 Message to Gen Z
- 🌱 You are not just a body or a bio — you are the observer of it all.
- 🧘 Self-awareness is the new superpower. Understand your inner field.
- 🥽 Stop trying to control every outcome — start witnessing yourself clearly.
- 💡 Wisdom isn’t info — it’s who you become when no one’s watching.
- 🕊️ Humility. Detachment. Emotional balance. These aren’t boring — they’re legendary.
🔍 Want to go deeper into the science of the soul and the field?