Verse 1
अर्जुन उवाच | प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च | एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव || १ ||
Transliteration
arjuna uvāca prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetra-jñam eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava
Synonyms
arjunaḥ uvāca—Arjuna said; prakṛtim—nature; puruṣam—the enjoyer; ca—also; eva—certainly; kṣetram—the field; kṣetra-jñam—the knower of the field; eva—certainly; ca—also; etat—all this; veditum—to understand; icchāmi—I wish; jñānam—knowledge; jñeyam—the object of knowledge; ca—also; keśava—O Keshava.
Translation
“Arjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to know about Prakriti and Purusha, the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and the object of knowledge.”
Multi-Tradition Commentary
Chapter 13 opens with Arjuna's question covering three fundamental pairs: Prakriti/Purusha (matter and consciousness), Kshetra/Kshetrajna (the field and its knower), and Jnana/Jneya (knowledge and the knowable). These are not separate questions but three ways of asking the same deepest question: what am I, and what is the world? The entire Vedantic tradition rests on correctly answering this question.
Practical Application (Modern Life)
This question is the beginning of Jnana Yoga — the path of discriminative inquiry. Ask yourself: 'Am I the body that experiences, or the awareness that witnesses the body experiencing?' This simple question, held sincerely, is the entry point into the deepest spiritual inquiry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.1 mean?
Arjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to know about Prakriti and Purusha, the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and the object of knowledge.
What is the word-by-word meaning of Bhagavad Gita 13.1?
arjunaḥ uvāca—Arjuna said; prakṛtim—nature; puruṣam—the enjoyer; ca—also; eva—certainly; kṣetram—the field; kṣetra-jñam—the knower of the field; eva—certainly; ca—also; etat—all this; veditum—to understand; icchāmi—I wish; jñānam—knowledge; jñeyam—the object of knowledge; ca—also; keśava—O Keshava.
How can I apply Bhagavad Gita 13.1 in daily life?
This question is the beginning of Jnana Yoga — the path of discriminative inquiry. Ask yourself: 'Am I the body that experiences, or the awareness that witnesses the body experiencing?' This simple question, held sincerely, is the entry point into the deepest spiritual inquiry.