श्रीभगवानुवाच | इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते | एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः || २ ||
śrī-bhagavān uvāca idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ
śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Lord said; idam—this; śarīram—body; kaunteya—O son of Kunti; kṣetram—the field; iti—thus; abhidhīyate—is called; etat—this; yaḥ—one who; vetti—knows; tam—him; prāhuḥ—they call; kṣetra-jñaḥ—knower of the field; iti—thus; tat-vidaḥ—those who know this.
“The Blessed Lord said: This body, O Kaunteya, is called the Field (Kshetra); one who knows it, those who know this call the Knower of the Field (Kshetrajna).”
The opening statement of the chapter proper establishes the most fundamental distinction in Vedanta. The body — along with the senses, mind, and intellect — is the 'kshetra' (field), the object of experience. The 'kshetrajna' is the one who knows, the witness-awareness in which all experience occurs. The Advaitin sees the Kshetrajna as ultimately identical with Brahman — the one Consciousness that underlies all individual knowing.
Throughout the day, periodically pause and notice: there is something in you that is aware of your thoughts, not just having them. That witnessing awareness — calm, spacious, unchanged whether thoughts are pleasant or painful — is the Kshetrajna. Even briefly touching this recognition shifts one's relationship to experience fundamentally.