प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च ।एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥
prakṛtiṃ puruṣaṃ caiva kṣetraṃ kṣetrajñameva ca |etadveditumicchāmi jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ ca keśava ||
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.