Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 7

Chapter 13 – Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं संघातश्चेतना धृतिः ।
एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ॥

Transliteration

icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṃghātaścetanā dhṛtiḥ .
etatkṣetraṃ samāsena savikāramudāhṛtam ॥

Meaning

Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the aggregate (of body and senses), awareness and fortitude — thus the field, together with its modifications, has been described in brief.

Word meanings

इच्छा – desire, longing
द्वेषः – aversion, hatred
सुखम् – pleasure
दुःखम् – pain
संघातः – the aggregate, the organised body-sense complex
चेतना – awareness as a mental function, sentience
धृतिः – fortitude, sustaining power
एतत् – this
क्षेत्रम् – the field
समासेन – in brief
सविकारम् – with its modifications
उदाहृतम् – has been described

Anvaya (word order)

इच्छा द्वेषः सुखम् दुःखम् संघातः चेतना धृतिः — एतत् सविकारम् क्षेत्रम् समासेन उदाहृतम् ।

Explanation

Verse 6 listed the basic constituents of the field; now Krishna adds the modifications that arise within us moment by moment — desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the bodily aggregate, awareness and fortitude. The verse is quietly revolutionary, because it places our most intimate experiences inside the field. The feelings we own so completely — ‘I want’, ‘I hate’, ‘I am miserable’ — turn out to be events that are known, not the knower.

Look at the list closely. Desire and aversion, attraction and repulsion, are the two root movements of the mind; chapters 3 and 7 named them as the source of bondage. Pleasure and pain are their results. The sanghata is the organised framework of body and senses in which all this takes place. Chetana here is not pure consciousness itself but the mental function of awareness that shines with borrowed light, as an iron ball glows red because fire has entered it. Dhriti is the sustaining power that holds body and mind together even when they are weary.

This verse played an important role in Indian philosophical debate. The Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools regarded desire, aversion, pleasure and pain as qualities of the self. Shankara points out that by counting them explicitly within the field, Krishna shows them to belong to the inner instrument, the antahkarana, while the Self remains the changeless witness. Ramanuja also treats them as products of Prakriti linked with embodiment, though he holds that the self is a real knower and agent with genuine attributes of its own. Madhva likewise regards these modifications as belonging to the bondage of Prakriti, not to the soul’s essential nature.

Together, verses 6 and 7 give a complete definition of the field, from the gross elements to the subtlest emotions. The practical meaning for a seeker is profound: when desire or anger rises, one can learn to say, ‘This is a wave arising in the field, and I am aware of it.’ That simple shift of standpoint turns helpless reaction into understanding and self-mastery.

Context

This verse completes the sentence begun in verse 6 and concludes the description of the field. From verse 8 through verse 12 Krishna goes on to describe the twenty qualities that constitute true knowledge, through which the knower of the field is realised.

Life lesson

Desire, anger, pleasure and pain come and go; they are experiences you have, not who you are. When an emotion rises, pause and observe it before responding. Cultivate fortitude, for it is what keeps the mind steady through hard times.

Key terms

Iccha-dvesha: Desire and aversion, the root likes and dislikes of the mind
Sanghata: The aggregate of body, senses and vital forces
Chetana: Mental awareness, a function of the inner instrument lit by the Self
Dhriti: Fortitude, the power that sustains body and mind
Savikara: Together with its modifications