{
  "chapter": 13,
  "lang": "en",
  "verses": [
    {
      "id": "13.1",
      "translation": "Nature and the Person, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and what is to be known: these I wish to understand, O Keshava.",
      "explanation": "Arjuna opens this chapter by asking Krishna to explain three pairs of ideas: nature (prakṛti) and the conscious self or person (puruṣa), the field (kṣetra, the body and its world) and its knower (kṣetrajña), and knowledge (jñāna) and what is to be known (jñeya). Krishna's answer follows in the next verses. Some manuscript traditions leave this verse out, so chapter 13 may start with the next verse in some editions."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.2",
      "translation": "This body, O son of Kunti, is called the \"field.\" Those who know this truth call the one who knows it the \"knower of the field.\"",
      "explanation": "Responding to Arjuna's question in the previous verse, Krishna begins to define the terms. The body, the realm where experience and action happen, is the \"field\" (kṣetra), and the one who is aware of it is the \"knower of the field\" (kṣetrajña). Here the knower is the conscious witness within; the next verse goes on to say how Krishna relates to it."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.3",
      "translation": "Know me also as the knower of the field in all fields, O descendant of Bharata. The knowledge of the field and its knower — that, in my view, is true knowledge.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues his teaching to Arjuna, building on the previous verse, where the body is called the \"field\" (kṣetra) and the one who knows it the \"knower of the field\" (kṣetrajña). Here he says he is the knower in all fields, and that understanding the field and its knower is real knowledge (jñāna). Advaita traditions read this as the individual self being one with the Supreme, while devotional (Vaishnava) traditions read it as the Lord dwelling within every being as the inner witness, distinct from the individual self."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.4",
      "translation": "Listen to me briefly about that field: what it is, what its nature is, how it changes, where it comes from, and also who the knower is and what his power is.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just defined the field (kṣetra, the body and its experienced world) and the knower of the field (kṣetrajña, the conscious self that knows it). Here he announces a short teaching on five points: what the field is, its nature, its changes (vikāra), its source, and who the knower is and what power he has. Traditions differ on whether the knower is ultimately the individual self or the one Self, but the verse itself only lists the topics."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.5",
      "translation": "It has been sung of in many ways by the seers, in various distinct hymns, and also in the reasoned, conclusive words of the Brahma-sutras.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just promised to explain the field (kṣetra, the body and its makeup) and the one who knows the field. Here he says this teaching is not new: seers have expressed it in many ways, in the varied Vedic hymns (chandas) and in the reasoned, decisive statements of the Brahma Sutra (brahmasūtra-pada). Some commentators take 'brahma-sutra-padas' as the Vedanta text of that name, while others read it more generally as Upanishadic statements about Brahman."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.6",
      "translation": "The great elements, the sense of \"I,\" the intellect, and the unmanifest as well; the ten senses and the one mind, and the five objects of the senses…",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining what the \"field\" (kṣetra), meaning the body and the nature it is made of, consists of, and he lists its parts in the manner of Sāṃkhya. They are the five great elements (mahābhūta), the sense of \"I\" (ahaṅkāra), the intellect (buddhi), the unmanifest source of nature (avyakta), the ten senses (five of knowing and five of action), the mind, and the five sense objects (sound, touch, form, taste, smell). Commentators differ on what the unmanifest is: some take it as primal nature (prakṛti), others as the seed-like causal power from which the world unfolds. The sentence continues into the next verse."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.7",
      "translation": "Desire, aversion, pleasure and pain, the body as an aggregate, consciousness, and resolve — this, briefly stated, is the field together with its transformations.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is finishing his summary of the \"field\" (kṣetra), meaning the body and everything in experience that the knower observes. After the elements, senses and mind in the previous verse, he adds inner states: desire (icchā), aversion (dveṣa), pleasure, pain, the body as a composite (saṅghāta), awareness (cetanā) and steadiness or resolve (dhṛti). \"Transformations\" (vikāra) means that all of these change. Traditions differ on whether cetanā here is a mental function or the reflection of consciousness in the mind, but all agree it belongs to the field and not to the knower."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.8",
      "translation": "Freedom from pride, freedom from hypocrisy, non-harming, patience, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadiness, self-restraint…",
      "explanation": "Having just described the \"field\" (kṣetra, the body and mind), Krishna begins a list of qualities he calls knowledge (jñāna). The list runs into the next verses. This first part covers humility, honesty, non-harming (ahiṃsā), patience, straightforwardness, devotion to a teacher, inner and outer cleanliness (śauca), steadiness and self-control. Traditions differ on whether these qualities are the knowledge itself or the groundwork that makes knowledge of the self possible."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.9",
      "translation": "Dispassion toward the objects of the senses, and likewise freedom from ego; keeping in view the flaw of suffering in birth, death, old age and sickness…",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his list of qualities that make up knowledge (jñāna), which he began in the previous verse. Here he names dispassion (vairāgya) toward sense pleasures, absence of ego (ahaṅkāra), and a steady awareness of the pain and limits that come with birth, death, old age and illness. Commentators differ on the last item: some read it as seeing suffering as the flaw in these conditions, others as seeing the flaw and suffering in them. Either way, it is meant to loosen attachment, not to encourage gloom."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.10",
      "translation": "Non-clinging, and no deep attachment to children, spouse, home and the like; and a constant evenness of mind amid things wished for and things unwished for…",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his list of qualities that make up true knowledge (jñāna). Here he names non-clinging (asakti) and freedom from over-identifying (anabhiṣvaṅga) with family and home, which does not mean neglecting them. He adds a steady, balanced mind (samacittatva) whether pleasant or unpleasant things happen. The list carries on into the next verse."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.11",
      "translation": "Unwavering devotion to me through single-minded yoga; living in a secluded place; and finding no delight in crowds of people…",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his list of qualities that make up knowledge (jñāna) in chapter 13. Here he names undivided devotion (bhakti) to him, a liking for solitary places, and no pleasure in social gatherings, all of which support a steady, inward mind. Traditions differ on emphasis: devotional schools see bhakti as the heart of the list, while Advaita readings treat it as devotion that matures into knowledge of the Self."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.12",
      "translation": "Constancy in knowledge of the self, and seeing the purpose of knowing the truth of things: this is declared to be knowledge. Whatever is contrary to this is ignorance.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is concluding his list of qualities (begun a few verses earlier) that he calls \"knowledge\" (jñāna). The last two items are steady commitment to knowing the self (adhyātma) and keeping in view the goal of knowing the ultimate truth (tattva). He then defines everything opposed to this list as ignorance (ajñāna). Traditions differ on the final item: Advaita readers take the goal as liberation through self-knowledge, while devotional readers take it as realizing God."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.13",
      "translation": "I will tell you what is to be known, by knowing which one attains immortality: the beginningless supreme Brahman, which is said to be neither being nor non-being.",
      "explanation": "Having described the qualities that make up knowledge (jñāna), Krishna now turns to the object of knowledge (jñeya): the supreme Brahman, the ultimate reality, knowing which brings immortality (amṛta), freedom from death and rebirth. It is beginningless and is called neither 'being' (sat) nor 'non-being' (asat), meaning it lies beyond ordinary categories of existence; some commentators take this instead as beyond the gross effect and its subtle cause. Traditions also divide the words differently: Advaita reads 'the beginningless supreme (param) Brahman', while Viśiṣṭādvaita reads 'beginningless Brahman that has me as its supreme (mat-param)', taking it as the individual self dependent on the Lord."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.14",
      "translation": "Everywhere it has hands and feet; everywhere it has eyes, heads and faces; everywhere it has ears. In the world it dwells, enveloping everything.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing the knowable (jñeya), the supreme Brahman introduced in the previous verse. Hands, feet, eyes and ears everywhere are a figure of speech: every act of doing, going, seeing and hearing in any being is powered by this one reality, which pervades all things. Traditions differ on the sense: Advaita readings take it as the one formless Self appearing through all beings, while devotional readings take it as the personal Lord's all-pervading presence."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.15",
      "translation": "It shines with the qualities of all the senses, yet is free of every sense. Unattached, it still sustains everything; free of the gunas, it still experiences the gunas.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is still describing Brahman, the knowable reality (jñeya), which he began describing in the previous verse. He uses seeming paradoxes: it appears to act through the senses (indriya) without having any, and it is unattached (asakta) yet supports all. It has no gunas (the three strands of nature: sattva, rajas, tamas) yet experiences them. Traditions differ on this: Advaita reads it as the apparent appearance of qualities on a quality-free reality, while theistic schools read it as God's real presence within nature without being bound by it."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.16",
      "translation": "It is outside beings and inside them; it is unmoving and also moving. Because it is so subtle, it cannot be grasped; it is far away, and yet it is near.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his description of Brahman, \"that which is to be known\" (jñeya), the ultimate reality. He uses paired opposites (outside and inside, still and moving, far and near) to show that it is present everywhere and is not limited by any one description. It is beyond ordinary knowing because it is so subtle (sūkṣmatva). Traditions differ on how to read this: Advaita takes it as the one reality beneath all appearances, while theistic schools take it as God's presence pervading and also transcending the world."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.17",
      "translation": "Undivided, it stands within beings, yet it seems divided. That knowable reality is the sustainer of beings; it devours them and brings them forth.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the knowable (jñeya), Brahman, the ultimate reality. It is one and whole, though it appears split up among many separate beings. It is described as the one who sustains beings, dissolves them, and brings them forth again. Traditions differ on how the apparent division arises: some read it as an appearance only, others as real diversity within one reality."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.18",
      "translation": "That is called the light of all lights, beyond darkness. It is knowledge, the thing to be known, and the goal reached through knowledge, seated in the heart of everyone.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is still describing Brahman (the ultimate reality), the \"knowable\" (jñeya) from the previous verses. He says it illumines even the sources of light such as the sun and is beyond darkness, meaning ignorance (tamas). He calls it knowledge (jñāna), the object of knowledge, and what knowledge reaches, dwelling in every heart. Advaita readings take this as the one Self within all, while devotional traditions see the Lord as the inner controller who is distinct from the individual soul."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.19",
      "translation": "So the field, knowledge, and what is to be known have been described briefly. My devotee, understanding this, becomes fit for my state of being.",
      "explanation": "Krishna wraps up his short account of the field (kṣetra, the body and its makeup), knowledge (jñāna), and the knowable (jñeya, the highest reality). He says a devotee (bhakta) who truly understands these is ready to share in his nature (mad-bhāva). Traditions differ on what this means: some read it as oneness with the Supreme, others as a loving closeness to Krishna that stays distinct."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.20",
      "translation": "Know that nature and the spirit are both without beginning. And know that the modifications and the gunas arise from nature.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues his teaching on the field and the knower of the field. He says that matter or nature (prakṛti) and the conscious self (puruṣa) are both beginningless, and that all changes (vikāra) and the three qualities (guṇa: sattva, rajas, tamas) come from prakṛti. Traditions differ on how the two relate: Advaita treats prakṛti as the Lord's power of illusion (māyā), beginningless but not ultimately real, while Viśiṣṭādvaita and other theistic readings treat both as real and eternal, with prakṛti forming the body or power of God."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.21",
      "translation": "In the producing of effects and their causes, nature (prakriti) is said to be the cause; in the experiencing of pleasure and pain, the purusha is said to be the cause.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining the two basic principles of the field and its knower: nature (prakṛti), the material source of everything, and the conscious self (puruṣa). Nature is the agent behind everything that gets produced, including bodies, senses and actions, while the puruṣa is the one who experiences pleasure and pain (bhoktṛtva). Commentators differ on 'kārya-kāraṇa': some read it as effects and their causes, while others follow a variant text (karaṇa) and take it as the body and its instruments, the senses; traditions also differ on how the puruṣa relates to nature, but all take the verse to divide the roles into acting and experiencing."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.22",
      "translation": "The purusha, dwelling in prakriti, experiences the gunas born of prakriti. Its attachment to the gunas is the cause of its births in good and evil wombs.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues explaining the field and its knower. The individual self (puruṣa) is situated in nature (prakṛti) and so experiences the three qualities (guṇas: sattva, rajas, tamas) that arise from it. Attachment (saṅga) to these qualities is what leads to rebirth in higher or lower forms of life. Traditions differ on whether this puruṣa is the individual soul distinct from God or ultimately one with the Supreme, but all read the verse as naming attachment as the cause of bondage."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.23",
      "translation": "The supreme Purusha in this body is called the witness, the one who permits, the supporter, the experiencer, the great lord, and also the Supreme Self.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just explained how the individual being (puruṣa) gets caught in nature's gunas through attachment (saṅga). Now he describes the higher Purusha present in the same body, seen as a witness (upadraṣṭā) who watches, permits and sustains, without being bound. Traditions differ on its identity: Advaita reads it as the one Self, while theistic schools read it as God dwelling within the individual soul."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.24",
      "translation": "One who knows the purusha and prakriti together with the gunas in this way is not born again, however he may be living.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is concluding his teaching on the field and its knower. The Purusha is the conscious self (puruṣa), Prakriti is nature or matter (prakṛti), and the gunas (guṇa) are its three qualities: clarity, activity and inertia. Whoever understands this distinction is said to be freed from rebirth, even while still acting in the world. Traditions differ on whether this knowledge alone liberates or must be joined with disciplined practice."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.25",
      "translation": "Some perceive the Self within themselves, by themselves, through meditation. Others do so through the yoga of knowledge (Sankhya), and others through the yoga of action.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that one who truly knows spirit (puruṣa) and nature (prakṛti) is not reborn. Here he lists different paths by which people come to see the Self (ātman): meditation (dhyāna), the discipline of knowledge (sāṅkhya yoga), and the discipline of selfless action (karmayoga). Some commentators take Sankhya here as analytic discernment between self and matter, while others read it more broadly as the path of knowledge."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.26",
      "translation": "Still others, not knowing this for themselves, listen to it from others and then worship. Those too, devoted to what they have heard, cross beyond death.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just listed paths by which people realize the Self: meditation, knowledge (sāṅkhya) and the yoga of action (karma-yoga). Here he adds a further group: those who cannot reach this insight on their own but hear it from others and practice with faith in what they have heard (śruti). He assures Arjuna that they too cross beyond death (mṛtyu), meaning the cycle of birth and death."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.27",
      "translation": "Whatever being comes into existence, whether moving or unmoving, know that it arises from the union of the field and the knower of the field, O best of the Bharatas.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his teaching on the field (kṣetra), meaning the body and nature, and the knower of the field (kṣetrajña), the conscious self that knows it. He says that every living thing, moving or still, comes about through the union of these two. Traditions differ on the nature of this union: Advaita sees it as an apparent mixing of the self with nature through ignorance, while theistic schools see it as a real relation in which both depend on God."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.28",
      "translation": "One who sees the Supreme Lord standing alike in all beings, undying within the dying — that one truly sees.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues explaining the knower of the field (kṣetrajña), the conscious presence behind every body. He says true vision recognizes the same supreme Lord (parameśvara) in every being, unchanged when bodies perish. Advaita traditions read this as the one Self in all, while theistic traditions read it as God dwelling in every soul as its inner controller."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.29",
      "translation": "Seeing the same Lord present equally everywhere, a person does not harm the self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing true vision: the one who sees the same Lord (īśvara) dwelling equally in all beings. Such a person does not injure the self by the self (ātman), and so attains the supreme goal (parā gati). Commentators differ on the \"harming\": some take it as the ignorance that hides one's real nature, others as the mind dragging a person down by wrong attitudes toward others, who are not truly separate."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.30",
      "translation": "One who sees that all actions are being performed in every way by nature (prakriti) alone, and that the self is not the doer — that person truly sees.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing true vision. Having spoken of seeing the Lord equally present everywhere, he now says that all action belongs to nature (prakṛti), the body-mind field of the three gunas, while the self (ātman) is not the doer (akartṛ). Advaita readings take this as the self being wholly actionless; theistic traditions stress that the self is not the independent doer, since nature and the Lord work through it."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.31",
      "translation": "When a person sees the separate existence of beings as rooted in one, and sees their spreading out from that very one, then they attain Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing true vision. The many different beings are seen as resting in a single ground and unfolding from it, and this seeing is itself reaching Brahman (the infinite reality). Traditions differ on what that one ground is: some Advaita readings take it as the one Self, while others take it as material nature (prakṛti) or the Lord supporting all beings."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.32",
      "translation": "Because it has no beginning and is free of the gunas, this supreme Self is imperishable. Though it dwells in the body, O son of Kunti, it neither acts nor is it tainted.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how the Self (ātman) differs from the body and its activity. Because the Self has no beginning and is beyond the three qualities of nature (guṇa), it does not change or perish, and so the actions of the body do not stain it. Commentators differ on whether \"supreme Self\" (paramātman) here means the self within the body, called supreme in relation to the body, or God dwelling within each being."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.33",
      "translation": "Just as space, which is present everywhere, is not stained because of its subtlety, so the self, present everywhere in the body, is not stained.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues explaining why the self (ātman) is untouched even while living in the body, as the previous verse said it neither acts nor is tainted. His image is space (ākāśa): it pervades everything, yet it is so subtle that mud, smoke or anything else cannot cling to it. In the same way, the self is present throughout the body without being affected by its pleasures, pains or actions."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.34",
      "translation": "Just as the one sun lights up this whole world, so the owner of the field lights up the entire field, O Bharata.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing how the knower of the field (kṣetrajña, the self), here called the field's owner (kṣetrī), relates to the body, the \"field\" (kṣetra). Having said the self is untouched like space, he now gives the image of the sun: one sun illuminates the whole world without being changed by it, just as the self makes the whole body and mind known through awareness. Traditions differ on whether this self is one universal consciousness (Advaita) or each individual self is distinct yet dependent on God (Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita)."
    },
    {
      "id": "13.35",
      "translation": "Those who, with the eye of knowledge, know in this way the difference between the field and the knower of the field, and the release of beings from prakriti, reach the Supreme.",
      "explanation": "Krishna closes chapter 13 by summarizing its aim: seeing clearly the difference between the field (kṣetra, the body and nature) and the knower of the field (kṣetrajña, the conscious self). The phrase bhūta-prakṛti-mokṣa can be read as the liberation of beings from material nature (prakṛti), or as the means of releasing beings from nature. Those who see this with the \"eye of knowledge\" (jñāna-cakṣus) reach the Supreme (param)."
    }
  ]
}