arjuna uvāca
prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñam eva ca |
etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava ||
Arjuna said:
Prakṛti and puruṣa, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and the object of knowledge (the known), these I would like to know, O Keśava.
śrībhagavān uvāca
1. idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate |
etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tadvidaḥ ||
The Beautiful Lord said:
This body, Son of Kuntī, is said to be the field. That which knows it is declared by the wise to be the knower of the field.
2. kṣetrajñañ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata |
kṣetrakṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama ||
Know Me as the knower of the field in all fields, O Bhārata. Knowledge of the field and the field knower are considered by Me to be true knowledge.
3. tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca yadvikāri yataśca yat |
sa ca yo yatprabhāvaś ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu ||
Hear from Me in brief what this field is, of what function, of what various modifications and from where they come, and who the one (knower of the field) is and what its powers are.
4. ṛṣibhir bahudhā gītaṁ chandobhir vividhaiḥ pṛthak |
brahmasūtrapadaiś cai va hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ ||
This has been sung by the great seers distinctly and in many different ways in various sacred hymns and also presented with good, clear reasoning in the sūtras of Brahman.
5. mahābhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |
indriyāṇi daśai ‘kaṁ ca pañca cendriyagocarāḥ ||
The five elements, the I-maker (ego-maker), the intelligence, and the unmanifest, the ten senses, the mind, and the five objects of the senses.
6. icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṁghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ |
etat kṣetraṁ samāsena savikāram udāhṛtam ||
Desire, hatred, happiness and distress, the whole organism, intelligence and courage, this is the field with its capacity for change briefly explained.
7. amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavam |
ācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁ sthairyam ātmavinigrahaḥ ||
Lack of pride, absence of deceit, nonviolence, patience, virtue, attending to (sitting beside) a teacher, cleanliness, grounded stability, and self-control.
8. indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam anahaṅkāra eva ca |
janmamṛtyujarāvyādhi duḥkhadoṣānudarśanam ||
Letting go of sense objects, absence of egotism and a continuous seeing of the problems of birth, death, old age, disease, and suffering.
9. asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu |
nityaṁ ca samacittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu ||
Nonattachment, not clinging to children, spouse, house, and so on, and a continuous, even mindfulness of the desired and the undesired.
10. mayi cā ‘nanyayogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇi |
viviktadeśasevitvam aratirjanasaṁsadi ||
An unwavering love for Me (using) a single-focused yoga, resorting to secluded places, a distaste for crowds of people.
11. adhyātmajñānanityatvaṁ tattvajñānārthadarśanam |
etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato ‘nyathā ||
Continual knowing of the primordial ātman, seeing the purpose of knowing the actual truth (tattva) is said to be this knowledge. Anything otherwise is ignorance.
12. jñeyaṁ yat tat pravakṣyāmi yaj jñātvā ‘mṛtam aśnute |
anādimat paraṁ brahma na sat tan nā ‘sad ucyate ||
I will explain that which is to be known, knowing which one reaches immortality. It is the beginningless, supreme Brahman, said to be neither permanent nor impermanent (neither sat nor asat).
13. sarvataḥpāṇipādaṁ tat sarvatokṣiśiromukham |
sarvataḥśrutimal loke sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati ||
With hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads, and faces all around, with ears listening everywhere, it stands enveloping all in the world.
14. sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriyavivarjitam |
asaktaṁ sarvabhṛc cai va nirguṇaṁ guṇabhoktṛ ca ||
It has the qualities of all the senses and yet is free from the senses, unattached and still supporting everything, without and free of the guṇas and yet enjoying the guṇas.
15. bhair antaśca bhūtānām acaraṁ caram eva ca |
sūkṣmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ dūrasthaṁ cā ‘ntike ca tat ||
Outside of and inside of all beings, not moving and also moving, too subtle to be known, it is far away and yet near.
16. avibhaktaṁ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam |
bhūtabhartṛ ca taj jñeyaṁ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca ||
Undivided and established in all beings as if divided, it is to be known as the support of all beings; both their devourer and creator.
17. jyotiṣām api taj jyotis tamasaḥ param ucyate |
jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ jñānagamyaṁ hṛdi sarvasya dhiṣṭhitam ||
It is the light of lights, is said to be beyond darkness, knowledge, the known and that gained by knowledge, seated in the heart of all.
18. iti kṣetraṁ tathā jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ co ‘ktaṁ samāsataḥ |
madbhakta etad vijñāya madbhāvāyo ‘papadyate ||
And so the field, knowledge, and the object of knowledge have been concisely described. One who loves Me, understanding this, enters my state of being.
19. prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ cai ‘va viddhy anādī ubhāv api |
vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛtisaṁbhavān ||
Know that prakṛti and puruṣa are both without beginning. And know that all modifications and the guṇas too arise from prakṛti.
20. kārya karaṇa kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate |
puruṣaḥ sukhaduḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate ||
Prakṛti is said to be the reason for the action, the instrument and means of action, and the doer of action; puruṣa is said to be the reason for the experiencing of happiness and suffering.
21. puruṣaḥ prakṛtistho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijān guṇān |
kāraṇaṁ guṇasaṅgo ‘sya sadasadyonijanmasu ||
The puruṣa situated in prakṛti enjoys the guṇas born of prakṛti. Attachment to the guṇas is the cause of its births in good and bad wombs.
22. upadraṣtā ‘numantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ |
paramātmeti cāpyukto dehe ‘smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ ||
In this body the highest puruṣa is called the supreme self (paramātman), the great beloved lord, the witness and the approver, the supporter, and the enjoyer.
23. ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha |
sarvathā vartamāno ‘pi na sa bhūyo ‘bhijāyate ||
One who knows in this way puruṣa and prakṛti along with the guṇas in whatever phase of unfolding, is not born again.
24. dhyānenātmani paśyanti kecid ātmānam ātmanā |
anye sāṁkhyena yogena karmayogena cā ‘pare ||
By meditation some see the self within the self by the self; others by Sāṁkhya yoga and yet others by Karma yoga.
25. anye tv evam ajānantaḥ śrutvā ‘nyebhya upāsate |
te ‘pi cātitaranty eva mṛtyuṁ śrutiparāyaṇāḥ ||
However, some, not knowing these, worship by listening to others. And they also cross beyond death devoted to listening.
26. yāvat sañjāyate kiñcit sattvaṁ sthāvarajaṅgamam |
kṣetrakṣetrajñasaṁyogāt tad viddhi bharatarṣabha ||
Any being whatever that is born, moving or unmoving, comes from the union of the field and the knower of the field. Know that, Bull of the Bharatas!
27. samaṁ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṁ parameśvaram |
vinaśyatsv avinaśyantaṁ yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||
One who sees the supreme beloved situated the same in all beings, not perishing when they perish, actually sees.
28. samaṁ paśyan hi sarvatra samavasthitam īśvaram |
na hinasty ātmanā ‘tmānaṁ tato yāti parāṁ gatim ||
Seeing the lord equally and evenly existing everywhere, one does not hurt the self by the self and then attains the highest goal.
29. prakṛtyai ‘va ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ |
yaḥ paśyati tathā ‘tmānam akartāraṁ sa paśyati ||
One who sees that all actions are performed entirely by prakṛti, and that the self (or they themselves) is not the performer, truly sees.
30. yadā bhūtapṛthagbhāvam ekastham anupaśyati |
tata eva ca vistāraṁ brahma saṁpadyate tadā ||
When one continuously, mindfully sees the multiplicity of the states of being abiding in the one and from there alone expanding out, they then attain Brahman.
31. anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmā ‘yam avyayaḥ |
śarīrastho ‘pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate ||
By having no beginning and by having no guṇas (transforming qualities), this paramātman, the supreme self, even though abiding in the body, neither acts nor is stained, Son of Kuntī.
32. yathā sarvagataṁ saukṣmyād ākāśaṁ no ‘palipyate |
sarvatrā ‘vasthito dehe tathātmā no ‘palipyate ||
Just as all-pervading space is not stained because of its subtlety, so the ātman, abiding in all bodies everywhere, is never tainted.
33. yathā prakāśayaty ekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ |
kṣetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ prakāśayati bhārata ||
Just as this whole world is illuminated by one sun, so the lord of the field illuminates the whole field, O Bhārata.
34. kṣetrakṣetrajñayor evam antaraṁ jñānacakṣuṣā |
bhūtaprakṛtimokṣaṁ ca ye vidur yānti te param ||
Those who know with the eye of wisdom the difference between the field and the knower of the field and also the liberation of beings from creative energy, prakṛti, come to the highest.