Step 4 of 7 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

  1. 1Tap a chapter, then a verse
  2. 2Read what it means
  3. 3Try the practice
700 verses37 detailed
Or browse by chapter
Chapter

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

Deep profile← → keys move between verses

Soul & knowledgeChapter 13 · Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 13.2

The body, its knower and the field of knowledge

अर्जुन उवाच

प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च ।

एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥ १ ॥

श्रीभगवानुवाच

इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।

एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहु: क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विद: ॥ २ ॥

arjuna uvāca

prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva

kṣetraṁ kṣetra-jñam eva ca

etad veditum icchāmi

jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya

kṣetram ity abhidhīyate

etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ

kṣetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ

Translation

Arjuna said: O my dear Kṛṣṇa, I wish to know about prakṛti [nature], puruṣa [the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

The Body and Its Knower

  1. 1Kṛṣṇa says the body is the field, and the one who knows it is the knower of the field.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that the body is the conditioned soul’s field of activity. The soul is different from the body and is always subordinate to the Supreme Lord.
  3. 3Reflect on how your body has changed since childhood while you remain the same person. This helps you understand that you are different from your body.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 13, Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness: the body, its knower and the field of knowledge.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Discern the eternal self from the temporary.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Body

The body is described as the field of activities.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 13.2 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.

4

The story behind it

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

All stories for chapter 13 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

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

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 13.2 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.