Bhagavad Gita BG 13.1
Chapter 13, Verse 1 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अर्जुन उवाच । प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च । एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥
arjuna uvaca prakrtim purusham caiva kshetram kshetra-jnam eva ca etad veditum icchami jnanam jneyam ca keshava
Meaning
Arjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to know — Prakriti and Purusha, the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and the object of knowledge.
Understanding
Arjuna opens Ch13 with four paired questions in one breath: prakrti-purusha (nature and Consciousness), kshetra-kshetrajna (field and knower of field), jnana-jneya (knowledge and the knowable). These are not random — they are the same fundamental question asked from four angles. The entire chapter is Krishna's answer. Etad veditum icchami (I wish to KNOW this) — Arjuna's question is the highest kind: not 'how do I win the war' but 'what is the real nature of matter, consciousness, and knowledge.' This sets the chapter's philosophical register far above ordinary concern.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| प्रकृतिम् | prakrtim | Prakriti — matter, nature, the principle of change |
| पुरुषम् | purusham | Purusha — the witnessing Consciousness |
| क्षेत्रम् | kshetram | the Field — the body-mind complex, all that is perceived |
| क्षेत्रज्ञम् | kshetra-jnam | the Knower of the Field — Consciousness that knows the field |
| ज्ञेयम् | jneyam | the knowable — the ultimate object of knowledge |
| अर्जुन उवाच | arjuna uvāca | Arjuna said |
| प्रकृतिम् | prakṛtim | matter, nature |
| पुरुषम् | puruṣam | the spirit, the enjoyer |
| च | caiva | and also |
| क्षेत्रम् | kṣetram | the field (body) |
| क्षेत्र-ज्ञम् | kṣetra-jñam | the knower of the field |
| एव | eva ca | indeed and |
| एतत् | etat | this |
| वेदितुम् | veditum | to know, to understand |
| इच्छामि | icchāmi | I wish, I desire |
| ज्ञानम् | jñānam | knowledge |
| ज्ञेयम् | jñeyam | the knowable |
| च | ca | and |
| केशव | keśava | O Krishna (killer of Keshi) |