Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 19

Chapter 13 – Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः ।
मद्भक्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भावायोपपद्यते ॥

Transliteration

iti kṣetraṃ tathā jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ coktaṃ samāsataḥ .
madbhakta etadvijñāya madbhāvāyopapadyate ॥

Meaning

Thus the field, knowledge and the object of knowledge have been briefly described. My devotee, understanding this, becomes fit to attain My state of being.

Word meanings

इति – thus
क्षेत्रम् – the field, the body and all of nature's evolutes
तथा – and also
ज्ञानम् – knowledge, the virtues of the seeker listed earlier
ज्ञेयम् – that which is to be known, the Supreme Brahman
च – and
उक्तम् – has been stated
समासतः – in brief
मद्भक्तः – My devotee
एतत् – this
विज्ञाय – having clearly understood
मद्भावाय – for My state of being
उपपद्यते – becomes fit, attains

Anvaya (word order)

इति क्षेत्रम् तथा ज्ञानम् ज्ञेयम् च समासतः उक्तम् । मद्भक्तः एतत् विज्ञाय मद्भावाय उपपद्यते ।

Explanation

This verse closes the first great movement of the thirteenth chapter. Krishna has set out three subjects: the field (kshetra), comprising the elements, ego, intellect, the unmanifest, the senses and the mental modifications such as desire and aversion; knowledge (jnana), the twenty qualities from humility and non-violence up to the vision of the purpose of true knowledge; and the knowable (jneya), the beginningless Brahman, neither being nor non-being, dwelling in every heart. Now he says all this has been told samasatah, in summary. The subject is endless, yet this much is enough for one who truly seeks.

The second line is striking: it is the devotee, mad-bhakta, who grasps this teaching. The Gita does not set devotion and knowledge against each other. The love described in Chapter 12 becomes the soil in which the discrimination of Chapter 13 can grow. A heart surrendered to the Lord is the heart best able to see the subtle truth that I am not the body but its witness.

The phrase mad-bhavaya upapadyate, becomes fit for My state, has been read in different ways. Shankara takes it to mean the realisation of identity with the Supreme Self: the seeker discovers he was never other than Brahman. Ramanuja reads it as attaining a nature like the Lord's, free from karma and endowed with divine qualities, while the soul remains a distinct and eternal servant of God. Madhva likewise preserves the difference and sees liberation as nearness to the Lord, granted through his grace.

The verse thus acts as a bridge. From the next verse Krishna restates the same truth in the language of Prakriti and Purusha, matter and spirit, so that the distinction between the field and its knower becomes still clearer. The phrase mama sadharmyam agatah in 14.2, attaining likeness with Me, echoes this same promise.

Context

Krishna is speaking to Arjuna. In 13.18 he described the knowable Brahman as the light of all lights, seated in every heart. Here he sums up the teaching on the field, knowledge and the knowable, and from 13.20 he begins the discussion of Prakriti and Purusha.

Life lesson

Spiritual knowledge is not mere information; it ripens in a devoted heart. Understanding the body, the discipline and the Divine clearly gives life its true direction. A little right understanding, lived with faith, carries us very far.

Key terms

Kshetra: the field: the body and the whole range of material nature
Jneya: the object of knowledge, the Supreme Reality
Mad-bhava: the Lord's own state or nature; liberation
Samasatah: briefly, in essence