1 · Learn3 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.

Or browse by chapter
Chapter

Chapter 13 · Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness · 35 verses

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435

Deep profile← → keys move between verses

How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Soul & knowledgeChapter 13 · Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness
13.213.4

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 13.3

The body, its knower and the field of knowledge

Īśvara · God

क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत ।

क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥ ३ ॥

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi

sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata

kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ

yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama

Translation

O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My opinion.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

The Knower in All Bodies

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa says He knows all bodies. Understanding the body and its knower is knowledge.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that the individual soul knows its own body, while Kṛṣṇa as the Supersoul knows and controls all bodies.

  3. 3

    Study the body, the individual soul, and the Supersoul as distinct. Recognize Kṛṣṇa as the supreme controller of both the body and the soul.

Key points from the purport

Explains 2nd Ksetra-jna (knower of the field) and conception of Jnana (knowledge)

There is also a ‘’second knower’’ who is the knower of all fields – The Supersoul

Definition of “knowledge” (Arjuna’s 5th question) – To understand body and it’s knower (Supersoul and soul) is called “knowledge”

a

How Krishna is the knower

Supersoul is the plenary expansion of Krishna, Krishna says “ I am also the knower, but not the individual knower of the body”

He is present in every body as the Super knower FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORT 13.3 continued…

b

Two knowers and their differences

Soul as the individual knower; and Supersoul as the Super knower

Supersoul is the Supreme proprietor of all the bodies, but soul is only for one body

Analogy: Citizen as the proprietor of one land, but King is the proprietor of all lands

Supreme Lord is the Supreme Controller of the Senses (Hrsikesa); Soul is the secondary controller

King is the original controller of all activities; citizens are the secondary controllers

One is fallible, other is infallible

One is subordinate, other is superior

Analogy: It would be like equating the potent and the impotent

Supporting Ref. Vedic Literatures: ’’Kshetrani …’’ Mentions there are 2 knowers of the body

c

Definition of “knowledge”

To study the subject matter of the field of activity and the knower of the field very minutely

d

Refutation of ‘’Soul and Supersoul as the same’’ –

Word “ca” indicates the total number of bodies – it indicates Krishna is present as Supersoul in every body while the atomic soul is present only in their individual bodies

Analogy: Do not misunderstand a rope to be a serpant

Real knowledgeis to know Supersoul as the controlled of both, the field of activities and the finite enjoyers

e

Understand the position of Prakriti (nature), Purusha (enjoyer of nature) and Ishvara (The Supreme Knower)

Analogy: Understand their differences and do not confuse between painter, the painting and the easel

There are three Brahman conceptions

Prakriti (Material nature) is Brahman as the field of activities

Jiva (Living entity) is also Brahman, and is trying to control material nature

Controller of both of them is also Brahman

Further reading

Arjuna’s Six Questions & Krishna Explains The Field Of

ACTIVITIES AND THE KNOWER OF THE FIELD (Text 13.2 – 13.7 answers the 3rd, 4th and 5th questions)

Krishna explains the field of activities as the body, by which the soul engages within his allotted sphere of activities within the material world

The soul, the knower of the field, has knowledge of his own field of activities

Krishna, as the Supersoul, is the knower of all fields of activity of all living entities

Knowledge is to know the field and its knowers

Chapter 13, section I: Arjuna’s Six Questions & Krishna Explains The Field Of
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kṣetra-jñamthe knower of the field
  2. caalso
  3. apicertainly
  4. māmMe
  5. viddhiknow
  6. sarvaall
  7. kṣetreṣuin bodily fields
  8. bhārataO son of Bharata
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: ātmā, jñāna.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 13.3 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to soul & knowledge?

Practice

Spend five minutes reflecting on what in you does not change.

5

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 13 ›
6

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 13.1The body, its knower and the field of knowledgeBG 13.2The body, its knower and the field of knowledgeBG 2.13The self endures bodily changeBG 4.34The humility of real inquiry
Live this todayKnow the Two KnowersOne practice from this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 4 of 9 · 10 minChapters & storiesGo chapter by chapter, with the Mahābhārata stories that explain what is happening.Back · LearnPrabhupāda's Introduction