Verse 13.1
Speaker: Arjuna
Sanskrit
अर्जुन उवाच | प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च | एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ||१||
Transliteration (IAST)
arjuna uvāca | prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñam eva ca | etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava ||1||
Word-by-Word Meanings
prakṛtim-nature/matter
puruṣam-the soul/spirit
kṣetram-the field (body)
kṣetrajñam-the knower of the field
jñānam-knowledge
jñeyam-the object of knowledge
keśava-O Krishna
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.
Commentary
This verse appears in some recensions as Arjuna's question that sets up the chapter's discourse. Shankaracharya notes that Arjuna seeks to understand the distinction between matter and spirit, which forms the foundation of discriminative knowledge. The six terms mentioned here outline the entire subject matter of Chapter 13.
Themes
jnanaatman