CHAPTER XIII The Body called the Field, the Soul called the Knower of the Field and Discrimination between them The Field and the Knower of the Field Highlighted Numbered Texts and Comments Dr.
Radhakrishnan Sanskrit Text, Transliteration and Word Translation Veeraswamy Krishnaraj 13.00 Arjuna said: Prakṛti and Puruṣa, the field and the
knower of the field, knowledge and the object of knowledge, these I should
like to know, O Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), This verse
is not found in some editions. S. does not comment, on it. If it is included, the total number of verses in the Bhagavadgītā will be 701 and
not 700, which is the number traditionally 'accepted.
So we do not include it in the numbering of verses. |
श्रीभगवानुवाच इदं शरीरं
कौन्तेय
क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते
। एतद्यो
वेत्ति तं
प्राहुः
क्षेत्रज्ञ
इति तद्विदः
॥१३- १॥ śrībhagavān uvāca śrībhagavān uvāca śrībhagavān uvāca = Sri Bhagavan said: idam1 = this; śarīram2 = body; kaunteya3 = O son of Kunti; abhidhīyate6 = is referred to; iti5 = as; kṣetram4 = the field; yaḥ8 = he who; vetti9 = knows; etat7 = this; tadvidaḥ14 = the learned
ones; prāhuḥ11 = call; tam10 = him; iti13 = as; kṣetrajña12 = the knower of the field. 13.1 The Blessed Lord said: (13.1) This
body, O Son of Kuntī (Arjuna), is called the field and him who knows this,
those who know thereof call the knower of the field. ■ Prakṛti is
unconscious activity and Puruṣa is inactive consciousness. The
body is called the field in which events happen; all growth, decline
and death take place in it. The conscious
principle, inactive and detached, which lies behind all active states as WItness, is the knower
of the field. This is the familiar distinction between
consciousness and the objects which that consciousness observes. Kṣetrajña is the light of
awareness, the knower of all objects.1 The witness
is not the individual embodied mind but the cosmic consciousness for which
the whole cosmos is the object. It is calm and eternal and does not need the
use of the senses and the mind for its witnessing. ■ Kṣetrajña is the supreme lord, not an
object in the world. He
is in all fields, differentiated by the limiting
conditions, from Brahma, the creator, to a tuft of grass though he is himself
devoid of all limitations and incapable of definition by categories.2 The immutable
consciousness is spoken of as cognizer only
figuratively (upacarat). ■ When we try to know the nature of the human soul, we may get to
know it from above or from below, from the divine principle or the elemental
nature. Man is a twofold, contradictory being, free and
enslaved. He is godlike, and has in him the signs
of his fall that is, descent into nature. As a fallen being, man is determined by the forces of
prakṛti, He appears to be actuated solely by elemental forces, sensual impulses, fear, and anxiety.
But man desires to get the better of his fallen nature. The man studied by objective sciences as biology, psychology and sociology
is a natural being, is the product of the processes which take place in the world. But man, as a subject, has another origin.
He is not a child of the world. He is not nature.
He does not belong to the objective hierarchy of nature, as a subordinate
part of it. Puruṣa or Kṣetrajña cannot be
recognized as an object among other objects or as a substance. He can
only be recognized as subject, in which is hidden the secret of existence, a
complete universe in an individual
form. He is not therefore a part of the world or of any other whole. As an
empirical being he may be like a Leibnitian monad closed3, shut up
without doors or windows. As a subject he enters into infinity and infinity
enters into him. Kṣetrajña is the universal in an individually
unrepeatable form. ■ The human being
is a union of the universal-infinite and the universal-particular. In his
subjective aspects, he is not a part of a whole but is the potential whole.
To actualize it, to accomplish the universality IS the ideal of man. The subject fills Itself with universal
content-achieves unity in wholeness at the end of its journey. Man's
peculiarity is not the possession of the common pattern of two eyes
and two hands, but the
possession of the inward principle which impels the creative acquisition of a
qualitative content of life. He has a unique quality, which is noncommon. The ideal personality is unique and
unrepeatable. Each person at the end of the road becomes a distinct,
unrepeatable, unreplaceable being with a unique
form. I See also Śvetāśvatara Up., VI, 16; and Maitrayaṇī
Up., II, 5. 2 Kṣetrajñaṁ māṁ parameśvaram asaṁsāriṇam
viddhi saruakṣet reṣuyaḥ. kṣetrajṇaḥ,brahmādistambaparyantāneka kṣetropādkipravi bhaktaṁ tam nirastasarvopādhibkedaṁ
sadasadādiśabdapratyayagocaraṁ viddhi. S. 3Monads are elementary particles with blurred
perceptions of one another. Monads are the ultimate elements of the universe.
The monads are "substantial forms of being" with the following
properties: they are eternal, indecomposable, individual, subject to their
own laws, un-interacting, and each reflecting the entire universe in a
pre-established harmony. Monads are centers of force; substance is force,
while space, matter, and motion are merely phenomenal. The ontological
essence of a monad is its irreducible simplicity. Unlike atoms, monads
possess no material or spatial character. Text introduced by
Veeraswamy Krishnaraj November
19, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz |
क्षेत्रज्ञं
चापि मां
विद्धि
सर्वक्षेत्रेषु
भारत । क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं
यत्तज्ज्ञानं
मतं मम ॥१३- २॥ kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi
māṁ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata kṣetrajñam1
ca2 api3
mām4 viddhi5
sarva-kṣetreṣu6 bhārata7 ca2 = And; api3 = indeed; viddhi5 = know; mām4 = Me; [as] kṣetrajñam1 = the Knower
of the field; sarva-kṣetreṣu6 = in all fields; bhārata7 = O
Bharata. tat12 = That; yat11 = which; [is] jñānam10 =
knowledge; kṣetra8 kṣetra-jñayoḥ9 = of the field and the knower of the field; [is]; jñānam13 = knowledge.
[That is] mama15 = My; matam14 = opinion. 13.2
■ S. holds that
the Supreme Lord seems to be saṁsārin, by reason of the cosmic manifestation, even as the individual self appears to be
bound by its identification
with the body.1 The Fall, according to the
Christian doctrine, is the forgetting of the image of God within man, which
is freedom, and lapsing into the external, which is necessity. Man,
essentially, is not a part of
nature but is spirit that
interrupts the continuity of nature. 1 tatraivam sati kśetrajñāsyeśvarasyaiva sato'vidyākṛtopādhibhedataḥ saṁsāritvam iva bhavati yathā dehādyātmatvam ātmanaḥ. |
तत्क्षेत्रं
यच्च
यादृक्च
यद्विकारि
यतश्च यत् । स
च यो
यत्प्रभावश्च
तत्समासेन
मे शृणु ॥१३- ३॥ tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca yadvikāri yataś ca yat tat
kṣetram yat1
ca2 yādṛk3
ca4 yat-vikāri5 yataḥ ca yat6 tat kṣetram
yat1 = What field
is that? [that-field-what]; ca2 = and; yādṛk3 = what kind
it is? ca4 = and ; yat-vikāri4 = what are
its transformations? [what-transformations].
yataḥ ca yat6 = And from
what it originates? [from what-and-what originates]. saḥ ca yaḥ7 = And who is he? [he-and-who].
yat-prabhāvaḥ8 =
What greatness pertains to Him? ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu9
=
And hear that from Me briefly [and-that-briefly-from me-hear]. 13.3
|
ऋषिभिर्बहुधा
गीतं
छन्दोभिर्विविधैः
पृथक् । ब्रह्मसूत्रपदैश्चैव
हेतुमद्भिर्विनिश्चितैः
॥१३- ४॥ ṛṣibhir bahudhā gītaṁ chandobhir vividhaiḥ pṛthak ṛṣibhiḥ1
bahudhā2 gītam3
chandobhiḥ4 vividhaiḥ5 pṛthak6 ṛṣibhiḥ1 = The
Rishis/Sages; bahudhā2 = in many
ways; gītam3 = sang; pṛthak6 = separately;
chandobhiḥ4 = various
Vedic hymns; vividhaiḥ5 = of
different kinds;ca8 = and; eva9 = indeed; brahma-sūtra-padaiḥ7 = Brahma Sutra aphorisms; [with] hetumadbhiḥ10 = logic,
reason; [and] viniścitaiḥ11 = certainty [determined knowledge]. 13.4 (13.4) This
has been sung by sages in many ways and distinctly, in various hymns and also in well-reasoned and conclusive expressions of
the aphorisms of the Absolute (brahmasūtra). ■ The Gītā
suggests that it is expounding the truths already contained
in the Vedas, the Upaniṣads and the Brahma
Sūtra or the aphorisms of Brahman, later systematized by
Bādarāyaṇa. The Vedic hymns are called cchandas or rhythmical utterances. |
महाभूतान्यहंकारो
बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव
च । इन्द्रियाणि
दशैकं च पञ्च
चेन्द्रियगोचराः
॥१३- ५॥ mahābhūtāny ahaṁkāro
buddhir avyaktam eva ca mahābhūtāni1
ahaṅkāraḥ2 buddhiḥ3
avyaktam4 eva5
ca6 mahābhūtāni1 = The great
elements; ahaṅkāraḥ2 = ego; buddhiḥ3 =
Buddhi/intellect; avyaktam4 = the
unmanifest; daśa8 = the ten; indriyāṇi7 = sense
organs; eva5 = indeed; ca6 = and; ekam9 = the one [the mind]; ca10 = and; ca12 = also; pañca11 = the five; indriya-gocarāḥ13 = objects of the senses. 13.5 (13.5) The
great (five gross) elements, self-sense, understanding as also the
unmanifested, the ten senses and mind and the five
objects of the senses. ■ These are the
constituents of the field of Kṣetra, the contents of experience, the twenty-four
principles of the Sāṁkhya system. The distinction of mental and material
belongs to the object side. They are distinctions within the
"field" itself. ■ The body, the
forms of sense with which we identify the subject belong to the object side.
The ego is an artificial construction obtained by abstraction from conscious experience. The witnessing consciousness
is the same whether it lights up the blue sky or a red flower.
Though the fields which are lit up may be different, the light which illumines them is the
same. |
इच्छा
द्वेषः सुखं
दुःखं
संघातश्चेतना
धृतिः । एतत्क्षेत्रं
समासेन
सविकारमुदाहृतम्
॥१३- ६॥ icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ
saṁghātaś cetanā
dhṛtiḥ icchā dveṣaḥ1 sukham duḥkham2
saṅghātaḥ3 cetanā
dhṛtiḥ4 icchā
dveṣaḥ1 = desire,
hatred; sukham duḥkham2 = happiness,
sorrow; saṅghātaḥ3 = the
agglomerate [of body and organs, made of 25 elements]; cetanā =
sentience; [and] dhṛtiḥ4 = firmness: etat5 = this; kṣetram6 = field; udāhṛtam9 = is described; samāsena7 = in brief;
[with the] savikāram8 = modifications.
13.6 (13.6)
Desire and hatred, pleasure and pain, the aggregate (the organism),
intelligence and steadfastness described, this in brief is the
field along with its modifications. ■ Even the mental
traits are said to qualify the field because they are objects of knowledge. The
knower is a subject and the turning of it into an
object or a thing means ignorance, avidyā. Objectivization
is the ejection of the subject into the world of the objects. Nothing in the
object world is an authentic reality. We can realize the subject in us only
by overcoming the enslaving power of the object world, by refusing to be dissolved in it. This means
resistance, suffering. Acquiescence in the surrounding world and its
conventions diminishes suffering; refusal increases it. Suffering is the process through
which we fight for our true nature. |
Knowledge अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा
क्षान्तिरार्जवम्
। आचार्योपासनं
शौचं
स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः
॥१३- ७॥ amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir
ārjavam amānitvam1 adambhitvam2
ahiṁsā3 kṣāntiḥ4 ārjavam5 amānitvam1 = Humility; adambhitvam2 = nonostentation; ahiṁsā3 = non-injury; kṣāntiḥ4 = patience; ārjavam5 = straightforwardness; ācārya-upāsanam6 = service to teacher; śaucam7 = purity; sthairyam8 = steadfastness; ātma-vinigrahaḥ9 = self-restraint; 13.7 continued. (13.7) Humility (absence of pride),
integrity (absence of deceit), non-violence, patience, uprightness, service
of the teacher, purity (of body and mind), steadfastness and self-control. |
इन्द्रियार्थेषु
वैराग्यमनहंकार
एव च । जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम्
॥१३- ८॥ indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam anahaṁkāra eva ca indriyārtheṣu1 vairāgyam2
anahaṅkāra3 eva4
ca5 vairāgyam2 =
non-attachment; indriyārtheṣu1 = to sense
objects; anahaṅkāra3 = paucity of
egoism; eva4 = indeed; ca5 = and; anudarśanam6G = having insight into; doṣa6F = suffering related to [fault or evil]; janma6A = birth; mṛtyu6B = death; jarā6C = old age; vyādhi6D = disease; duḥkha6E = sorrow... 13.8 continued (13.8) Indifference to the objects of
sense, self-effacement and the perception of the evil of birth, death, old
age, sickness and pain. |
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः
पुत्रदारगृहादिषु
। नित्यं च
समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु
॥१३- ९॥ asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ
putradāragṛhādiṣu asaktiḥ1 anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ2 putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu3 asaktiḥ1 = detachment; anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ2 = absence of attachment or mineness; putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu3 = for son, wife, & home; ca5 = and; nityam4 = constant; sama-cittatvam6 = mental equilibrium; [on] iṣṭa-aniṣṭa-upapattiṣu7 = attainment of the desirable and the undesirable... 13.9
(continued) (13.9) Non-attachment, absence of clinging to
son, wife, home and the like and a constant equal-mindedness to all desirable
and undesirable happenings. |
मयि
चानन्ययोगेन
भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी
। विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि
॥१३- १०॥ mayi cānanyayogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī mayi1
ca2 ananya-yogena3 bhaktiḥ4
avyabhicāriṇī5 ananya-yogena3 = dedicated concentration; ca2 = and; avyabhicāriṇī5 = unswerving; bhaktiḥ4 = devotion; mayi1 = to Me; vivikta-deśa-sevitvam6 = resorting to solitary places
[solitary-places-resorting]; aratiḥ-jana-saṁsadi7 = dissatisfaction [discomfort] in the company of people
[dissatisfaction-people-assembly]... 13.10 (13.10) Unswerving devotion to Me
with wholehearted discipline, resort to solitary places, dislike for a crowd
of people. |
अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं
तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम्
। एतज्ज्ञानमिति
प्रोक्तमज्ञानं
यदतोऽन्यथा
॥१३- ११॥ adhyātmajñānanityatvaṁ tattvajñānārthadarśanam adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvam1
tattva-jñāna-artha-darśanam2 adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvam1 = steadfastness
in the attainment of knowledge of the Self [Self-knowledge-steadfastness]
tattva-jñāna-artha-darśanam2 =
contemplation and insight into knowledge of Reality
[Truth-knowledge-insight-contemplation]: etat3 = this; proktam6 = is declared; iti5 = thus;
[as] jñānam4 = knowledge; yat8 = that which is; ataḥ
anyathā9 = other than
this [than this-other]; [is] ajñānam7 =
non-knowledge. 13.11 (3.11) Constancy
in the knowledge of the Spirit, insight into the end of the knowledge of
Truth-this is declared to be (true) knowledge and all that is different from
it is nonknowledge. ■ It is clear
from this list of qualities that jñāna or knowledge includes the practice
of the moral virtues. Mere
theoretical learning will not do.1 By the development of moral qualities the light of the ever changeless Self witnessing all but attached to none is discriminated from the passing
forms and is no more confused with them. I nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo, na medkayā, na bahunā śrutena. Kaṭha Up., II, 22; Muṇḍaka Up., III, 2-3. |
ज्ञेयं
यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि
यज्ज्ञात्वामृतमश्नुते
। अनादि
मत्परं
ब्रह्म न
सत्तन्नासदुच्यते
॥१३- १२॥ jñeyaṁ yat tat pravakṣyāmi
yaj jñātvāmṛtam
aśnute jñeyam1
yat2 tat3
pravakṣyāmi4 yat5
jñātvā6 amṛtam7
aśnute8 pravakṣyāmi4 = I will
explain; tat3 = that; yat2 = which; [is]
jñeyam1 = knowable;
[by] jñātvā6 =
knowing; yat5 = which; aśnute8 = one
attains; amṛtam7 = ambrosia/immortality.
param10 = The
supreme; brahma11 = Brahman;
[is] anādimat9 = one without
a beginning. tat14 = That; ucyate17 = is said to be; na12 = neither; sat13 = being; na15 = nor; asat16 = non-being. 13.12 (13.12) I
will describe that which is to be known and by knowing which
life eternal is gained. It is the Supreme Brahman who is beginningless and
who is said to be neither existent nor non-existent. anādimat param: beginningless
supreme. S. anādi matparam: beginningless,
ruled by Me. R. It is eternal, lifted above all
empirical oppositions of existence and non-existence, beginning and end, and
if we realize It, birth and death happen to be mere
outward events which do not touch the eternity of the self. |
The Knower of the Field सर्वतः
पाणिपादं
तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम्
। सर्वतः
श्रुतिमल्लोके
सर्वमावृत्य
तिष्ठति ॥१३-
१३॥ sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṁ
tat sarvatokṣiśiromukham sarvataḥ1
pāṇi-pādam2 tat3
sarvataḥ4 akṣi-śiraḥ-mukham5 sarvataḥ1 = Everywhere;
pāṇi-pādam2 = hands and feet; sarvataḥ4 = everywhere;
akṣi-śiraḥ-mukham5 = eyes,
heads and faces; sarvataḥ6 = everywhere;
śruti-mat7 = having ears: tat3 = That; tiṣṭhati11 = exists; āvṛtya10 = pervading; sarvam9 = everything; loke8 = in the
world. 13.13
■ As the one
subject of all objects of experience, He is said to envelop all and have
hands and feet, ears and eyes everywhere. Without the seeing Light, there is
no experience at all. As the Supreme has the two aspects;
the one of transcendence and detachment and the other of immanence in each
particular union with the not-self, It is described in a series of paradoxes.
He is without and within, unmoving and moving, far away and near, undivided
and yet divided. M.B. says that when the self is associated with the modes of nature, it is called Kṣetrajña;
when it is released from these it is called the Paramātman or the
Supreme Self.1 1 atma kṣetrajña ity uktaḥ
saṁyuktaḥ prakṛtair guṇair tair eva tu vinirmuktaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ. Sāntiparva, 187, 24. |
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं
सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्
। असक्तं
सर्वभृच्चैव
निर्गुणं
गुणभोक्तृ च ॥१३-
१४॥ sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriyavivarjitam sarva-indriya-guṇa-ābhāsam1
sarva-indriya-vivarjitam2 [He is] sarva-indriya-guṇa-ābhāsam1
= the light of all organs and Gunas [all-organs-Gunas-light]; sarva-indriya-vivarjitam2 =
abstaining from all sense organs [all-organs-abstaining]; asaktam3
= unattached; sarva-bhṛt4 = supporter of all; ca5
= moreover; eva6 = indeed; nirguṇam7
= devoid of Gunas; ca9 = also; guṇa-bhoktṛ8
= enjoyer of Gunas. 13.14. Guna = Sattva, Rajas and
Tamas = Virtue, passion and darkness.
■ This verse makes
out that the Supreme is the mutable
and the immutable, the all and the one. He sees all but not with the physical
eye, He hears all but not with the physical ear, He knows all but not with
the limited mind. Cp.. Śvetāśvatara
Up., III, 19, "He
sees without the eye, He hears without the ear." The immensity
of the Supreme is brought out by the attribution of qualities
(adhyāropa) and denial (apavāda). |
बहिरन्तश्च
भूतानामचरं
चरमेव च । सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं
दूरस्थं
चान्तिके च
तत् ॥१३- १५॥ bahir antaś ca bhūtānām acaraṁ
caram eva ca bahiḥ1
antaḥ2 ca3
bhūtānām4 acaram5
caram6 eva7
ca8 [What is] bahiḥ1 = outside; ca3 = and; antaḥ2 = inside; eva7 = also; [in] bhūtānām4 = beings; acaram5 = the
non-mobile; ca8 = and; caram6 = the mobile;
tat10 = That; sūkṣmatvāt9 = on account
of subtleness; [is] avijñeyam11 = unknowable;
ca13 = and; tat16 = That; [is] dūrastham12 = far away; ca15 = and; antike14 = near. 13.15
|
अविभक्तं
च भूतेषु
विभक्तमिव च
स्थितम् । भूतभर्तृ
च तज्ज्ञेयं
ग्रसिष्णु
प्रभविष्णु
च ॥१३- १६॥ avibhaktaṁ ca bhūteṣu
vibhaktam iva ca sthitam avibhaktam1 ca2
bhūteṣu3 vibhaktam4 iva5
ca6 sthitam7 bhūta-bhartṛ8 ca9 tat10 jñeyam11 grasiṣṇu12 prabhaviṣṇu13 ca14 13.16 jñeyam11 = Knowable; tat10 = That [Para Brahman]; [is] avibhaktam1 = undivided; ca2 = and; vibhaktam4 = divided; bhūteṣu3 = in all beings; ca6 = and; iva5 = in the same manner; sthitam7 = Existing; bhūta-bhartṛ8 = Sustainer of beings; ca9 = and; grasiṣṇu12 = Devourer; ca14 = also; prabhaviṣṇu13 = the Creator.13.16 (13.16) He is undivided (indivisible) and yet He seems
to be divided among beings. He is to be known as supporting creatures,
destroying them and creating them afresh. ■ Cp. Dionysius: "Undivided in things divided." All things derive from Him, are supported
by Him and taken back into Him. |
ज्योतिषामपि
तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः
परमुच्यते । ज्ञानं
ज्ञेयं
ज्ञानगम्यं
हृदि
सर्वस्य विष्ठितम्
॥१३- १७॥ jyotiṣām api taj
jyotis tamasaḥ param ucyate jyotiṣām1
api2 tat3
jyotiḥ4 tamasaḥ5
param6 ucyate7 tat3 = That;
[is] jyotiḥ4 = the Light; api2 = even;
jyotiṣām1 = of lights; [It] ucyate7 = is said;
[It is] param6 = beyond; tamasaḥ5 = darkness; [It
is] jñānam8 = knowledge; [ It is] jñeyam9 = knowable; [It is] jñāna-gamyam10 = the Known; [It] viṣṭhitam13 = exists; hṛdi11 = in the
heart; sarvasya12 = of
everyone.13.17 (13.I7) He
is the Light of lights, said to be beyond darkness. Knowledge, the object of knowledge and the goal of know ledge-He is seated in the
hearts of all. ■ The Light dwells
in the heart of every being. Many of these passages
are quotations from the Upaniṣads, See Śvetāśvatara
Up., III, 8 and I6; Īśa UP; 5; Muṇḍaka up; XIII, 1, 7; Bṛhadāraṇyaka Up., IV..4, I6. |
The Fruit of Knowledge इति
क्षेत्रं
तथा ज्ञानं
ज्ञेयं
चोक्तं समासतः
। मद्भक्त
एतद्विज्ञाय
मद्भावायोपपद्यते
॥१३- १८॥ iti kṣetraṁ tathā jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ coktaṁ sanāsataḥ iti1 kṣetram2
tathā3 jñānam4
jñeyam5 ca6
uktam7 samāsataḥ8 iti1 = Thus; kṣetram2 = the field; tathā3 = also; jñānam4 = the knowledge; ca6 = and; jñeyam5 = the
knowable; uktam7 = were spoken
of; samāsataḥ8 = briefly. mat-bhakta9 = My votary;
vijñāya11 = knowing; etat10 = this; upapadyate13 = attains; mat-bhāvāya12 = My nature.13.18 (13.18)
Thus the field, also knowledge and the object of knowledge have
been briefly described. My devotee who understands thus
becomes worthy of My state. ■ When the devotee
sees the Eternal Indwelling Divine, he puts on the divine nature with the
characteristics of freedom, love and equality. "He attains unto my
state." |
प्रकृतिं
पुरुषं चैव
विद्ध्यनादी
उभावपि । विकारांश्च
गुणांश्चैव
विद्धि
प्रकृतिसंभवान्
॥१३- १९॥ prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādi ubhāv api prakṛtim1
puruṣam2 ca3
eva4 viddhi5
anādi6 ubhāu7
api8 viddhi5 = Know; prakṛtim1 = Nature; ca3 = and; puruṣam2 = the
individual souls; [are] ubhāu7 = both; eva4 = indeed; anādi6 = without
beginning; ca10 = and ; viddhi14 = know; api8 = also; vikārān9 = transformation [change]; ca12 = and; eva13 = indeed; guṇān11 = Gunas; [are] prakṛti-sambhavān15 = born of Nature.13.19 (13.I9) Know thou that prakṛti
(nature) and Puruṣa (soul) are both beginningless; and know also that the forms and modes are born of prakṛti
(nature). ■ As the Supreme is eternal, so are His prakṛtis.1 Through the
possession of the two pṛakrtis, nature and soul, Īśvara
causes the origin, preservation and dissolution of the universe. The puruṣa
described in this section is not the multiple puruṣa of the Sāṁkhya
but the Kṣetrajña who is one in all fields. The
Gītā does not look upon prakṛti and Puruṣa as two independent
elements as the Sāṁkhya does but looks upon them as the inferior
and the superior forms of one and the same Supreme. 1nityeśvaratvād Īśvarasya, tat prakṛtyor api yuktaṁ nityatvena bhavitum. S. |
कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वे
हेतुः
प्रकृतिरुच्यते
। पुरुषः
सुखदुःखानां
भोक्तृत्वे
हेतुरुच्यते
॥१३- २०॥ kārya karaṇa kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate kārya-karaṇa-kartṛtve1
hetuḥ2 prakṛtiḥ3
ucyate4 prakṛtiḥ3 = Nature; ucyate4 = is said to
be; hetuḥ2 = the cause
of; kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve1 = agency to
body and sense organs [body-organs-agency]. puruṣaḥ5 = The individual soul [the self]; ucyate9 = is said be; hetuḥ8 = the cause; bhoktṛtve7 = in the experiencing; sukha-duḥkhānām6 = of happiness and sorrow. 13.20 (13.20)
Nature is said to be the cause of effect, instrument and agent (ness) and the
soul is said to be the cause, in regard to the experience
of pleasure and pain. The body and the senses are produced by prakṛti
and the experience of pleasure and pain is by the puruṣa subject to certain limitations. The
blissful nature of the self is stained by joy and sorrow on account of its identification with the objects of nature. kārya-karaṇa-kartṛtve1: For kāryakaraṇakartṛtve, there is another reading "kāryakāraṇakartṛtve."
See Franklin Edgerton: Bhagavadgita, Vol. I, p. I87 note. |
पुरुषः
प्रकृतिस्थो
हि भुङ्क्ते
प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्
। कारणं
गुणसङ्गोऽस्य
सदसद्योनिजन्मसु
॥१३- २१॥ puruṣaḥ prakṛtistho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijān
guṇān puruṣaḥ1
prakṛtisthaḥ2 hi3
bhuṅkte4 prakṛtijān5
guṇān6 kāraṇam7 guṇasaṅgaḥ8 asya9 sad-asad-yoni-janmasu10 13.21 puruṣaḥ1 = Purusa [Jivatma, the individual
living soul]; prakṛtisthaḥ2 = abiding in Prakrti; hi3 = indeed; bhuṅkte4 = enjoys; guṇān6 = Gunas; prakṛtijān5 = born of
Nature. guṇasaṅgaḥ8 = Attachment to Gunas; [is] kāraṇam7 = the cause; sad-asad-yoni-janmasu10 =
of birth in good or evil wombs [good-evil-womb-birth]; asya9 = for that Jivatma. 13.21 (13.2I)
The soul in nature enjoys
the modes born of nature. Attachment to the modes is the cause of its births in good and evil wombs. |
उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता
च भर्ता
भोक्ता
महेश्वरः । परमात्मेति
चाप्युक्तो
देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः
परः ॥१३- २२॥ upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ upadraṣṭā1
anumantā2 ca3
bhartā4 bhoktā5
maheśvaraḥ6 maheśvaraḥ6 = Mahesvara [Great Lord]; uktaḥ11 = is said to be; upadraṣṭā1 = the
Witness; anumantā2 = the
Approver; ca3 = and; bhartā4 = the
Supporter; bhoktā5 = the
Enjoyer; paramātma7 = the Supreme Soul; ca9 = moreover; iti8 = thus; api10 = even; asmin13 = this; paraḥ15 = Supreme; puruṣaḥ14 = Purusa;
[is] dehe12 = in the body.13.22
Here the Supreme Self is different from the psychophysical individual who
becomes the immortal self by transcending
the separatist consciousness, due to entanglement in the activities of prakṛti.
In the Gītā, no distinction
is made between the knower of the field and the Supreme Lord.1 1 kṣetrajñeśvarayoḥ bhedānabhyupagamād
gītāśāstre. S. |
य
एवं वेत्ति
पुरुषं
प्रकृतिं च
गुणैः सह । सर्वथा
वर्तमानोऽपि
न स
भूयोऽभिजायते
॥१३- २३॥ ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha yaḥ1
evam2 vetti3
puruṣam4 prakṛtim5
ca6 guṇaiḥ7
saha8 yaḥ1 = He who; evam2 = thus; vetti3 = knows; puruṣam4 = man; ca6 = and; prakṛtim5 = nature; saha8 = with; guṇaiḥ7 =
Gunas/qualities; [though] vartamānaḥ10 = living; sarvathā9 api11 = in all ways; saḥ13 = he; na12
abhijāyate15 = is never
born; bhūyaḥ14 = again. 13.23 (13.23)
He who thus
knows soul (puruṣa) and nature (prakṛti) together with the modes, though he acts in every way, he is not born
again. sarvathā9 vartamānaḥ10 api11: though he
acts in every way, whatever state of life he may be in. R. |
Different Roads to Salvation ध्यानेनात्मनि
पश्यन्ति
केचिदात्मानमात्मना
। अन्ये
सांख्येन
योगेन
कर्मयोगेन
चापरे ॥१३- २४॥ dhyānenātmani paśyanti
kecid ātmānam ātmanā dhyānena1
ātmani2 paśyanti3
kecit4 ātmānam5
ātmanā6 dhyānena1 = By
meditation; kecit4 = some; paśyanti3 =
see/realize; ātmānam5 = Self; ātmani2 = in the
self; ātmanā6 = through
Buddhi/mind/intellect; anye7 = others; sāṅkhyena yogena8 =
through Sankhya Yoga; ca10 = and; apare11 = others; karma-yogena9 = through Karma Yoga. 13.24
Sāṁkhya here stands
for jñāna. |
अन्ये
त्वेवमजानन्तः
श्रुत्वान्येभ्य
उपासते । तेऽपि
चातितरन्त्येव
मृत्युं
श्रुतिपरायणाः
॥१३- २५॥ anye tv evam
ajānantaḥ śrutvānyebhya
upāsate tu2 = But; anye1 = others; evam3 = thus; ajānantaḥ4 = ignorant of
[Yogas]; upāsate7 = worship; śrutvā5 = by hearing;
anyebhyaḥ6 = from others
[gurus or teachers]; ca10 = and; te8 = they; api9 = also; eva12 = indeed; atitaranti11 = cross over; mṛtyum13 = death; śruti-parāyaṇāḥ14 = by trust in what they heard.13.25
Even those who rely on the
authority of teachers1 and worship according to their advice
have their hearts opened out to the grace of the Lord and thus reach
life-eternal. 1śrutiparāyaṇāh, kevalaparopadeśapramāṇāḥ svayaṁ vivekarahitāḥ. S. |
यावत्संजायते
किंचित्सत्त्वं
स्थावरजङ्गमम्
। क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञसंयोगात्तद्विद्धि
भरतर्षभ ॥१३-
२६॥ yāvat saṁjāyate kiṁcit sattvaṁ sthāvarajaṅgamam yāvat1
sañjāyate2 kiñcit3
sattvam4 sthāvara5
jaṅgamam6 yāvat1 kiñcit3 = Whatever; sañjāyate2 = comes into
existence; sattvam4 = beings; sthāvara5 = immobile;
[and] jaṅgamam6 = mobile; viddhi9 = know; tat8 = that; [it happens from] kṣetra-kṣetrajña-saṁyogāt7 = union of the field and the knower of the field
[field-knower of the field-union] bharatarṣabha10 = O the best of Bharatas.13.26 (13.26)
Whatever being is born, moving or
unmoving, know thou, O Best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), that it is
(sprung) through the union of the field and the knower of
the field. All life is a commerce between self and not-self.
According to S., the union of the two is of the nature
of adhyāsa, which consists in confounding the one with the other.
When the confusion is cleared, bondage terminates. |
समं
सर्वेषु
भूतेषु
तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम्
। विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं
यः पश्यति स
पश्यति ॥१३-
२७॥ samaṁ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṁ
parameśvaram samam1
sarveṣu2 bhūteṣu3
tiṣṭhantam4 parameśvaram5 saḥ10 = He; yaḥ8 = who; paśyati9 = sees; avinaśyantam7 = the imperishable; parameśvaram5 = Supreme
Lord; samam1 = equally; sarveṣu2 = in all; tiṣṭhantam4 = existing; vinaśyatsu6 = perishable; bhūteṣu3 = beings; paśyati11 = [really] sees.13.27
He who sees the Universal Spirit in all things, sees and becomes himself universal. "Never perishing
when they perish.'' If all things are in a continual state of evolutionary development, then
there is no unchanging God. Bergson, for example,
makes God wholly immanent in the world, changing as it changes. An evolving
God who is conceived as a part of the process of
development of the world will cease to exist, when the universe ceases to move. The second law of
Thermodynamics suggests a condition of eventless stagnation and perfect rest.
An evolving or emergent God cannot be either the creator or the savior of the
world.. He is not an adequate object for the
religious emotions. In this verse, the Gītā assures us that
God lives and endures even when the universe ceases to exist. |
समं
पश्यन्हि
सर्वत्र
समवस्थितमीश्वरम्
। न
हिनस्त्यात्मनात्मानं
ततो याति
परां गतिम्
॥१३- २८॥ samaṁ paśyan hi sarvatra samavasthitam īśvaram samam1 paśyan2
hi3 sarvatra4
samavasthitam5 īśvaram6 paśyan2 = Seeing; īśvaram6 = the Lord; samam1 =
equally; hi3 = indeed; sarvatra4 = everywhere;
samavasthitam5 = equally
abiding; [everywhere] [he] na hinasti7 =does not injure/destroy; ātmānam9 = Self; ātmanā8 = by the self/mind; tataḥ10 = therefore; [he] yāti11 = attains; parām
gatim12 = the
supreme goal.13.28 (13.28) For, as he sees the Lord present, equally
everywhere, he does not injure his true Self by the self and then he attains to the supreme goal. |
प्रकृत्यैव
च कर्माणि
क्रियमाणानि
सर्वशः । यः
पश्यति
तथात्मानमकर्तारं
स पश्यति ॥१३-
२९॥ prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi
kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ prakṛtya1
eva2 ca3
karmāṇi4 kriyamāṇāni5
sarvaśaḥ6 yaḥ7 = He who; paśyati8 = sees; karmāṇi4 = activities;
kriyamāṇāni5 = being
performed; sarvaśaḥ6 = in many
ways; prakṛtya1 = by Nature; eva2 = indeed; ca3 = and; tathā9 = also; ātmānam10 = the Self; [as] akartāram11 = the non-agent; saḥ12 = he; paśyati13 = sees. 13.29 (13.29) He
who sees that all actions are done only by nature (prakṛti) and
likewise that the self is not the doer, he verily sees. The true self IS not the doer but only the witness.
It is the spectator, not the actor. S. says that
there is no evidence
to show that there is any variety in him who is non-agent, unconditioned and
free from all specialities, as there is no variety in the sky.1 Actions affect the mind and
understanding and not the self. 1 kṣtrajñam akartāraṁ sarvopādhivivarjitam. nirguṇasyākartur nirviśeṣasy akāśasyevā bhede pramāṇānupapattiḥ. |
यदा
भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति
। तत
एव च
विस्तारं
ब्रह्म
संपद्यते
तदा ॥१३- ३०॥ yadā bhūtapṛthagbhāvam
ekastham anupaśyati yadā1
bhūta-pṛthak-bhāvam2
ekastham3 anupaśyati4 yadā1 = When; anupaśyati4 = one
sees/realizes; bhūta-pṛthak-bhāvam2 = the
state of diversity and individuality of beings [living beings-diverse-state];
ekastham3 = abiding in
One; ca7 = and; [which are His] vistāram8 = expansions; tata5 eva6 = from That also; sampadyate10 = he attains; brahma9 = Brahman; tadā11 = at that time.13.30 (13.30) When
he sees that the manifold state of beings is centered
in the One and from just that it spreads out, then he attains Brahman. When the variety of nature and its
development are traced to the Eternal One, we assume
eternity. "He realizes the all-pervading nature of the Self,
inasmuch as the cause of all limitation is absorbed into
the unity of the Self." Ᾱnandagiri. |
अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः
। शरीरस्थोऽपि
कौन्तेय न
करोति न
लिप्यते ॥१३- ३१॥ anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ anāditvāt1
nirguṇatvāt2 paramātmā3
ayam4 avyayaḥ5 avyayaḥ5 = The
immutable; paramātmā3 = Supreme
Soul; [is] anāditvāt1 = without
beginning; [and] nirguṇatvāt2 = without
attributes; api7 = though; śarīrasthaḥ6 = dwelling in the body; kaunteya8 = O Kaunteya; ayam4 = [This] It; na karoti9 = neither
acts; na lipyate10 =
nor is stained. 13.31 (13.3I) Because this Supreme Self imperishable is without beginning,
without qualities, so, O Son of Kuntī (Arjuna), though It dwells in the
body. It neither acts nor is tainted. |
यथा
सर्वगतं
सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं
नोपलिप्यते
। सर्वत्रावस्थितो
देहे
तथात्मा
नोपलिप्यते
॥१३- ३२॥ yathā sarvagataṁ saukṣmyād ākāśaṁ
nopalipyate yathā1
sarva-gatam2 saukṣmyāt3
ākāśam4 na upalipyate5 yathā1 = As; sarva-gatam2 =
all-pervasive; ākāśam4 = Ether; na upalipyate5 = is
not stained; saukṣmyāt3 = due to its
subtle nature; sarvatra6 = everywhere; tathā9 = likewise; ātmā10 = the Self; avasthitaḥ7 = present; dehe8 = in the body; na upalipyate10 = is not stained [ by the Gunas due to its Nirguna state] 13.32 (13.32) As the all-pervading ether is not tainted, by reason
of its subtlety, even so the Self that is present in every body does not suffer any taint. |
यथा
प्रकाशयत्येकः
कृत्स्नं
लोकमिमं
रविः । क्षेत्रं
क्षेत्री
तथा
कृत्स्नं
प्रकाशयति
भारत ॥१३- ३३॥ yathā prakāśayaty ekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ yathā1
prakāśayati2 ekaḥ3 kṛtsnam lokam4
imam5 raviḥ6 yathā1 = As; ekaḥ3 = one; raviḥ6 = sun; prakāśayati2 = lights up; imam5 = this;
kṛtsnam lokam4 = whole
world; tathā9 = likewise; kṣetrī8 = the Knower of the field; prakāśayati11 = illuminates; kṛtsnam10 = all; kṣetram7 = field/body; bhārata12 = O Bharata [Arjuna]. 13.33 (13.33) As
the one sun illumines this whole world, so does the Lord of the field
illumine this entire field, O Bharata (Arjuna). The knower of the field
illumines the whole field, the entire world of becoming. |
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं
ज्ञानचक्षुषा
। भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं
च ये
विदुर्यान्ति
ते परम् ॥१३-
३४॥ kṣetrakṣetrajñayor evam antaraṁ
jñānacakṣuṣā kṣetra-kṣetrajñayoḥ1 evam2
antaram3 jñāna-cakṣuṣā4 ye7 = They who; viduḥ8 = know; antaram3 = the
difference; kṣetra-kṣetrajñayoḥ1 = between the field and the Knower of the field; ca6 = and; evam2 = thus; jñāna-cakṣuṣā4 = the eye of wisdom; [focused on] bhūta-prakṛti-mokṣam5 = liberation of beings
from Nature [beings-Nature-liberation]; te10 = they; yānti9 = attain; param11 = the Supreme. 13.34 (13.34) Those who perceive thus by their eye
of wisdom the distinction between the
field and the knower of the field, and the
deliverance of beings from nature (prakṛti), they attain to the Supreme. bhūta-prakṛti: the material
nature of beings. iti... kṣetrakṣetrajñavibhāgayogo
nāma trayodaśo 'dhyāyaḥ This is the thirteenth
chapter entitled The Yoga of the Distinction
between the Field and the Knower of the Field. |