इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते।एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥
idaṃ śarīraṃ kaunteya kṣetramityabhidhīyate|etadyo vetti taṃ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tadvidaḥ ||
This body is called kṣetra (the field); the one who knows it is called kṣetrajña — the field-knower!
Word by word (3)
- idaṃ śarīraṃ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate
- — This body, O son of Kunti, is called kṣetra (the field) · idam = this (demonstrative pronoun; pointing at the immediate, embodied reality — 'this here' = the very body of the listener). śarīraṃ = body (from √śṛ = to decay, to fall apart; śarīra = that which decays/falls = the body as a temporary composite structure; the word itself contains the teaching — the body is called kṣetra BECAUSE it decays, because it is the field in which karma plants seeds and reaps results). kaunteya = O son of Kunti (Arjuna; Kuntī's son; the address is familial and warm). kṣetram = the field (from kṣi = to decay; or kṣit = cultivated land; kṣetra = the agricultural field = that which is cultivated = the body as the field in which the soul works out its karma). iti = thus, with this meaning. abhidhīyate = is called, is spoken of (passive of abhi + √dhā = to name, to designate; 'it is designated as'). The equation is direct: idaṃ śarīram = this body = kṣetra = the field. Not just the physical body: kṣetra will expand to include all 24 tattvas of Sāṃkhya (V5-V6) — the full apparatus of matter, senses, intellect, and ego.
- etad yo vetti taṃ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tad-vidaḥ
- — The one who knows this — the knowers call him 'kṣetrajña' (knower of the field) · etad = this (refers to kṣetra = the body/field). yo vetti = who knows (yo = relative pronoun 'who'; vetti = 3rd person singular of √vid = to know; who-knows). taṃ = him (accusative; the one who knows). prāhuḥ = they call, they say (3rd plural of √brū = to speak; prāhuḥ = the learned ones call/declare). kṣetrajñaḥ = field-knower (kṣetra + jña = field + one who knows; the conscious knowing subject who inhabits and knows the body-field; the ātman in its function as witness-of-the-body). iti = with this meaning/name. tad-vidaḥ = those who know this, the knowers (tad = that; vid = who know; tad-vidaḥ = those who know that truth = the teachers of this tradition). Two entities: the field (śarīra) and the field-knower (ātman). The body changes constantly; the knower-within watches without changing. This is the foundational duality that Ch.13 analyzes.
- kṣetra / kṣetrajña (paired analysis)
- — the field (body-matter) / the knower of the field (consciousness) · The kṣetra-kṣetrajña distinction is the Ch.13 version of the body-soul, matter-spirit, object-subject distinction. Kṣetra = everything that can be observed, measured, analyzed — it includes not just the physical body but also the mind, intellect, senses, and ego (as V5-V6 will show). Kṣetrajña = the one for whom all of this appears = pure consciousness = ātman. The significance: EVERYTHING observable — including your thoughts, emotions, memories — is kṣetra (the field). What KNOWS all of this is kṣetrajña. The question 'who am I?' is answered: you are not the field (kṣetra) but the knower of the field (kṣetrajña). This teaching will culminate in 13.27-28 where the one who sees kṣetrajña in every kṣetra is declared to be the one who truly sees.
Krishna gives the first definition: this body (śarīra) is the kṣetra — the field. And the one who knows it — the conscious witness inside — is called kṣetrajña. At the simplest level: the body is the field; the soul (ātman) is the knower of the field. But this will expand: kṣetra includes not just the physical body but all of mind, ego, and intellect; and kṣetrajña will turn out to be not just your individual soul but ultimately Krishna Himself (V3).
A modern analogy
Like the screen and the movie: the movie (kṣetra) changes constantly — action, color, sound, drama. But the screen (kṣetrajña) doesn't change; it simply 'knows' (displays) whatever appears. You've been so absorbed in the movie that you forgot you're the screen. Ch.13 is the teaching that reminds you.
Sit with this: V2 says the body is the 'field.' The word kṣetra also means agricultural field — land in which things grow. What grows in the body-field? Is the Gita saying the body is like soil — neutral, capable of growing both weeds (karma) and crops (dharma)?
V2's equation (śarīra = kṣetra) launches Ch.13's central inquiry. The word śarīra (body) comes from √śṛ = to decay — the body is literally named 'the decaying one.' Kṣetra (field) comes from kṣi = to diminish. Both words point to impermanence. In contrast, kṣetrajña contains √jñā = to know — the knowing-one, the non-decaying consciousness that witnesses the field's changes. Tad-vidaḥ ('those who know this') signals that this is traditional wisdom, not a new teaching — the kṣetra-kṣetrajña distinction is the Upanishadic heritage. Cf. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.8 (akṣara = the imperishable = the kṣetrajña aspect).
Advaita lens
Śankara's most important point about V2: kṣetrajña (the body-knower) is not the jīva (individual soul with its ego and intellect) but the pure ātman (witness-consciousness). The jīva with its limitations is still kṣetra (observable, changing). What truly knows the field is the ātman = Brahman in its role as witness. V3 will make this explicit: Krishna (= Brahman) is the kṣetrajña in ALL fields. The field-knower in you = the same Brahman in everyone. Recognition of this = jñāna.
Bhakti lens
Krishna declares Himself the kṣetrajña (Knower) in ALL bodies (sarva-kṣetreṣu) — the Beloved Lord is the innermost Consciousness of every being. The devotee who loves Krishna is loving the one who lives inside every heart as the witnessing awareness. This transforms all encounters: to see another person is to encounter the kṣetrajña who dwells in them. Bhakti that recognizes 'the Knower in all fields is my Lord' expands love to universal dimensions — and the knowledge of field vs. Knower (kṣetra-kṣetrajña-jñānam) becomes the theological basis for universal compassion.
Karma-Yoga lens
The karma-yogi's key insight from V2: every action takes place within the kṣetra (field = body-mind complex), but the kṣetrajña (Knower = ātman = Krishna) is never the doer. Understanding kṣetra-kṣetrajña-jñānam (knowing the difference between field and Knower) is precisely the understanding that enables karma-yoga's central move — acting fully within the field while remaining identified with the Knower. The kṣetra acts; the kṣetrajña witnesses; the karma-yogi consciously occupies the Knower's position while the field does its work.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
[V2 = SW 13.1 in SH-aligned editions; MISSING from SH indexed as 13.2] [1]
This body, O son of Kunti, is called Kshetra, and he who knows it is called Kshetrajna by those who know of them (Kshetra and Kshetrajna). [4]
This body, Arjun! is called Kshetra, 'the field'; / He who doth know it, hath the name of 'Knower of the field,' / Ksheyrajna. Yea, O Bharata! I am that Knower in all fields. [7]
This body, O son of Kunti! is called Kshetra, and the learned call him who knows it the Kshetrajña. [9]
This body, O son of Kunti, is called Kshetra. Him who knows it, the learned call Kshetrajna. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Every being born — moving or unmoving — arises from the union of kṣetra and kṣetrajña alone.
That which pervades everything cannot be destroyed — nothing and no one has the power to end it.
Two puruṣas: kṣara (all mutable beings) and akṣara (kūṭastha, immutable ground) — both about to be transcended.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
The soul does not slay, and cannot be slain — both the slayer and the slain have mistaken the soul for the body.