In Srimad Bhagwad Gita, this is perhaps one of most advanced and metaphysical chapters. One could interpret this chapter verbatim and one could delve into the depths of the meanings, hidden and subtle ones as they are inclined to. In my limited experience, one could consider this at a universal level, at a societal, familial or individual level. Perhaps, I am more influenced by a similar treatment of Mahabharata by V. S. Sukhthankar in his seminal book, “On the meaning of Mahabharata”.
Before I deep-dive into the verses, I would like to quote a verse on the importance of reading Srimad Bhagwad Gita. Adi Sankara in the famous Bhaja Govindam outlines the futilities of materialistic attachments. He also advises one to read Srimad Bhagwad Gita for it helps a soul to transcend over the cycle of births and deaths.
भगवद्गीता किञ्चिदधीता
गङ्गा जललव कणिका पीता |
सकृदपि येन मुरारी समर्चा
क्रियते तस्य यमेन न चर्चा ‖ 21 ‖
By whom the Bhagavad Gita has been studied even a little, by whom even a single drop of the Ganga's water has been sipped, by whom Murari (Vishnu, the slayer of Mura) has been worshipped even once — with him Yama, the lord of death, holds no dispute.
The title i.e. Kshetra (field as in simple translation) and Kshetrajna (Knower of the field) are common terminologies that recur in many compositions. In my favourite Vishnu Sahasranama,
वैकुण्ठः पुरुषः प्राणः प्राणदः प्रणवः पृथुः ।
हिरण्यगर्भः शत्रुघ्नो व्याप्तो वायुरधोक्षजः || VSN.44 ||
Prāṇaḥ: One who lives as Kshetrajana (knower in the body) or one who functions in the form of vital force called Prana.
जीवो विनयिता साक्षी मुकुन्दोऽमित विक्रमः ।
अम्भोनिधिरनन्तात्मा महोदधि शयोन्तकः || VSN.55 ||
Jīvaḥ: One who as the Kshetragya or knower of the field or the body, is associated with the Pranas.
Prana, Jivah - More common words that are in vogue are representative of Kshetrajna. The question that arises is simple: What is Kshetra? Who is Kshetrajna? This is the same question that Arjuna poses at the start of the chapter.
अर्जुन उवाच ।
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च ।
एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥ 13.1॥
Arjun said, “O Keshav, I wish to understand what are prakṛiti and puruṣh, and what are kṣhetra and kṣhetrajña? I also wish to know what is true knowledge, and what is the goal of this knowledge?
Sri Krishna immediately provides a clear, succinct definition of these terms
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहु: क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विद: ॥ 13.2॥
The Supreme Divine Lord said: O Arjun, this body is termed as kṣhetra (the field of activities), and the one who knows this body is called kṣhetrajña (the knower of the field) by the sages who discern the truth about both.
From this point onwards, Sri Krishna elaborates on the various aspects of Kshetra and more importantly Kshetrajna. Before I go deeper into these concepts, I want to highlight the most profound and my preferred verse for this chapter:
उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर: ।
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुष: पर: ॥ 13.23॥
Within the body also resides the Supreme Lord. He is said to be the Witness, the Permitter, the Supporter, Transcendental Enjoyer, the ultimate Controller, and the Paramātmā (Supreme Soul).
Paramaatma as in Parama Atma (Supreme Soul) is everything that controls the actions of the body which pervades. Since this verse describes the core essence of Sri Krishna’s teachings i.e. his essence resides in every single being of the universe, I find this to be the representative verse for this chapter. With this statement, there is bound to be a question. Does he incur the sins that we perform in our bodies? Sri Krishna clarifies:
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् ।
असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ॥ 13.15॥
Though He perceives all sense-objects, yet He is devoid of the senses. He is unattached to everything, and yet He is the sustainer of all. Although He is without attributes, yet He is the enjoyer of the three modes of material nature.
He is above the trigunas and doesn’t get attached to anything. This again is a recurring teaching of Srimad Bhagwad Gita - Verse 7.12 is the closest match for this concept, while verses 3.9, 3.19 also provide a similar inference.
Continuing from the definition of Kshetra and Kshetrajna, Sri Krishna says that the field of activities is composed of 5 elements:
महाभूतान्यङ्ककारो बुद्धिरव्यक्त मेव च ।
इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचरा: ॥ 13.6॥
The field of activities is composed of the five great elements, the ego, the intellect, the unmanifest primordial matter, the eleven senses (five knowledge senses, five working senses, and mind), and the five objects of the senses.
In the next verse 13.7, Sri Krishna describes what exactly is Kshetra:
Field comprises of : Desire and Aversion, Happiness and Misery, Body, Consciousness and Will
Over the course of next 5 verses, Sri Krishna outlines what exactly is knowledge and absence of which is termed as ignorance. What is knowledge?
- Humility
- Freedom from hypocrisy
- Non-violence
- Forgiveness
- Simplicity
- Service to the Guru
- Cleanliness of Body and Mind
- Steadfastness
- Self-control
- Dispassion towards objects of senses
- Absence of egotism
- Keeping in mind the evils of birth, disease, old-age and death
- Non-attachment
- Absence of clinging onto spouse, children, home etc
- Even-mindedness amidst desirable and undesired events of life
- Constant and exclusive devotion towards Paramaatma
- Inclination towards solitary places
- Aversion to mundane society
- Constancy in spiritual knowledge
- Philosophical pursuit of absolute truth
If one looks at this list, we can identify many recurring themes across various teachings within Srimad Bhagwad Gita or in other scriptural sources. For example, Cleanliness of Body and Mind reminds me of a famous vachana from the famous philosopher teacher, Basavanna.
ಕಳಬೇಡ, ಕೊಲಬೇಡ, ಹುಸಿಯ ನುಡಿಯಲು ಬೇಡ,
ಮುನಿಯಬೇಡ, ಅನ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಅಸಹ್ಯಪಡಬೇಡ,
ತನ್ನ ಬಣ್ಣಿಸಬೇಡ, ಇದಿರ ಹಳಿಯಲು ಬೇಡ.
ಇದೇ ಅಂತರಂಗಶುದ್ಧಿ, ಇದೇ ಬಹಿರಂಗಶುದ್ಧಿ
ಇದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಕೂಡಲಸಂಗಮದೇವರನೊಲಿಸುವ ಪರಿ.
Do not steal, do not kill, never ever lie.
Do not get angry, do not feel disgusted/negative about others.
Do not praise yourself, do not humiliate/condemn others.
This is inner purity, this is outer purity.
This alone is the way to please our Lord Koodalasangama.
Sri Krishna goes onto describe the Kshetrajna in greater detail.
सर्वत: पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् ।
सर्वत: श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ॥ 13.14॥
Everywhere are His hands and feet, eyes, heads, and faces. His ears too are in all places, for He pervades everything in the universe.
This is very similar to this verse from Vishnu Sahasranama
सहस्रमूर्धा विश्वात्मा सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् || VSN. 24 ||
Sahasramūrdhā: One with a thousand, i.e. innumerable, heads.
Viśvātmā: The soul of the universe.
Sahasrākṣaḥ: One with a thousand or innumerable eyes.
Sahasrapāt: One with a thousand, i.e. innumerable legs.
This is also found in Purusha Sukta.
स॒हस्र॑शीर् षा॒ पुरु॑षः । स॒ह॒स्रा॒क्ष-स्स॒हस्र॑पात् ।
स भूमिं॑-विँ॒श्वतो॑ वृ॒त्वा । अत्य॑तिष्ठद्दशाङ्गु॒लम् ॥
The purusha (universal being) has thousand heads, thousand eyes and thousand feet. Thousand signifies innumerable which points to the omnipresence of the universal being. He envelops the world from all sides i.e. he pervades each part of the creation, and extends beyond in the ten directions represented by ten fingers.
Elaborating further on the qualities of the Kshetrajna, Sri Krishna continues to place the importance of being attached, yet unattached nature of this supreme entity, constantly reminding that he dwells within all beings (13.15 - 13.18). He clarifies that Prakriti and Purusha are eternal.
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि ।
विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसम्भवान् ॥ 13.20॥
Know that prakṛiti (material nature) and puruṣh (the individual souls) are both beginningless. Also know that all transformations of the body and the three modes of nature are produced by material energy.
The question is how to realise this supreme soul. This is achieved through Dhyana, Jnana or Karma - repetition of the same core teachings from previous chapters (13.25), which may even be picked up by following the example set by some great souls (13.26). There is a deeper meaning to this statement. We are constantly being observed and evaluated by the universe - Be it children, family or society in general. Knowingly or otherwise, some may follow our example or lead. Hence, it’s important to ensure that we develop our souls such that our actions are reflective of our mind, which in turn should be aligned with Dharma.
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् ।
न हिनस्त्यात्मनात्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥ 13.29॥
Those, who see God as the Supreme Soul equally present everywhere and in all living beings, do not degrade themselves by their mind. Thereby, they reach the supreme destination.
Controlling of mind is of foremost importance. In verse 6.5, we have already understood the importance of tuning our mind / atma. As with other chapters, Sri Krishna concludes this chapter with a very profound verse.
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते ।
सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥ 13.33॥
Space holds everything within it, but being subtle, does not get contaminated by what it holds. Similarly, though its consciousness pervades the body, the soul is not affected by the attributes of the body.
Space is not contaminated by the attributes of things it holds - Such a profound and deep verse. This requires a lot more deeper contemplation and would help us to understand the tenets of Nishkama Karma and working towards becoming Stithaprajna
Please do share your view on the choice of shloka and my interpretations thereof. I would like to get your thoughts and feedback and maybe we discover something hidden in Srimad Bhagwad Gita.
Sarvam Sri Krishnaarpanamastu
Verses and meanings from:
- https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/
- https://shlokam.org/shloka/vishnu-sahasranamam.htm
- https://shlokam.org/shloka/purusha-suktam.htm
- https://shlokam.org/shloka/bhaja-govindam-all-verses.htm
Previous Chapters:
- Arjuna Vishada Yoga
- Sankhya Yoga
- Karma Yoga
- Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga
- Karma Sanyasa Yoga
- Dhyana Yoga
- Jnana Vijnana Yoga
- Akshara Brahma Yoga
- Raja Vidya Yoga
- Vibhuti Yoga
- Vishwaroopa Darshana Yoga
- Bhakti Yoga
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