BG 13.3 — Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 13.3Chapter 13 · Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña-Vibhāga-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

तत् क्षेत्रं यच् च यादृक् च यद्विकारि यतश् च यत् ।

स च यो यत्प्रभावश् च तत् समासेन मे शृणु ॥

tat kṣetraṃ yac ca yādṛk ca yad-vikāri yataś ca yat

sa ca yo yat-prabhāvaś ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Hear from me briefly what this field is, what it is like, how it changes, where it comes from, and who the knower is and what power he holds.

ekras · bhāṣya

That kshetra — what it is, what it is like, what its modifications are, where it comes from. And the kshetrajna — who he is, what his powers are. Hear all this samasena, in brief, from Me.

Krishna names six questions: four about the field, two about the knower, with one promise — concise summary, hear from Me. The chapter's enumerative work is being announced.

Shankara reads precisely. The kshetra is described in its essence and qualities; its vikaras — modifications — and its yatah — origin — are to be stated. The kshetrajna's svarupa and prabhava follow. The verse marks the move from the chapter's foundational identification to its enumeration: what follows in 13.5 onward is the answer to these six questions in compact form.

Madhusudana reads in two registers: the kshetrajna empirically appears as agent and enjoyer through avidya's superimpositions, but ultimately is the self-luminous, all-pervading chaitanya in every field — Krishna himself, the advitiya brahmananda. The field is maya-conjured, mithya; the knower is paramartha-satya. The jnana Krishna calls His own here is the very light that opposes avidya — not mere information but liberation itself.

Ramanuja reads with characteristic warmth: the kshetra is described fourfold — substance, locus, transformations, cause and purpose. The kshetrajna has his own svarupa and prabhava. All this — field and knower together — constitutes the body that Bhagavan qualifies and indwells, and Krishna offers samasena, concisely, what no other source can give.

Madhva reads on the bheda-frame and reads the conciseness itself: the verse is terse, samasena, and Madhva's own bhashya is famously terse.

Krishna speaks as svatantra — hear from Me — while the jiva knows only as paratantra within its own field. The single word kshetrajna already signals the whole chapter's discrimination.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: the one who truly knows the field has received Krishna's own nature, mat-svabhava-apanna; the jiva entangled in prakriti cannot on its own discriminate. The jnana praised is not the jiva's achievement but Bhagavan's will, madiccha-sammata — to be received as prasada, protected, rakshet.

Shridhara reads cleanly: this is the pivot from the bound jiva's empirical nature to its deepest reality. The same jiva who wanders through fields is, at the deepest level, marked out by tat tvam asi — identity through the chid-amsha. The jnana that distinguishes field from knower is alone moksha-hetu; everything else is empty scholarship.

Context

where

Chapter 13 · Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña-Vibhāga-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 13.2

Know me as the knower of the field in every body, Arjuna. That knowledge, of field and knower together, is the knowledge I hold to be true.

What's going on

Hear from me briefly what this field is, what it is like, how it changes, where it comes from, and who the knower is and what power he holds.

Sūtras through this verse · hub (54)

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

13.1Two niṣṭhās, three kāṇḍas — keystone.───→here13.3───→18.78Sealed: the means stands on the end stands.

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)between

13.2Field and knower both predicate Me.───→here13.3───→13.32Touches without being stained.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

13.2Architectural claim: the Lord's own bhāṣya.───→here13.3───→14.1Two-verse prelude names guṇa-vibhāga.

show all 54

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asibetween

13.1Vākyārtha hexad begins. Anchor.───→here13.3───→15.20Whole teaching named guhyatamaṃ śāstram.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

13.1Ch 13 opens by binding to the middle hexad.───→here13.3───→18.1Final chapter compresses seed and answer.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

13.1Boundary protected by stylized doubt.───→here13.3───→18.66Closing verse opened by doubt-and-answer.

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyatebetween

12.12Bhakta's gradient read as description.───→here13.3───→13.7Twenty jñāna-qualities: still description.

ĀnandagiriclassicalJ

Prakṛti is never autonomousbetween

13.1Prakṛti's autonomy blocked at boundary. Anchor.───→here13.3───→14.1Modes belong to the Lord's prakṛti.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

13.1Same discipline at the keystone chapter.───→here13.3───→18.1Final chapter opens with the same form.

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsbetween

9.27Karma-as-frame. 'Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat, yat tapasyasi K───→here13.3───→13.7Itihasa stories and the witness virtues. 'Amanitvam adambhitvam ahimsa kshantir

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

9.29'Samo'ham sarva-bhuteshu na me dveshyo'sti na priyah.' I am equal in all beings;───→here13.3───→13.27'Samam sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam parameshvaram.' The same Lord seated equal

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

9.27Dharma-as-offering pillar. 'Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat.' Gau───→here13.3───→13.27Atman / Brahman pillar. 'Samam sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam parameshvaram.' The

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netibetween

6.29'Sarva-bhuta-stham atmanam sarva-bhutani cha'tmani, ikshate yoga-yuktatma sarvat───→here13.3───→13.32'Anaditvan nirgunatvat paramatma'yam avyayah, sharira-stho'pi Kaunteya na karoti

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)between

13.1Open the third ṣaṭka: field and knower.───→here13.3───→14.1Beyond sāṅkhya: the modes that bind.

RāmānujaclassicalF

Two prakṛtis · jīva as eternal aṃśabetween

7.13Modes hide the higher.───→here13.3───→13.20Both natures beginningless.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

13.2Those who posit ajñāna in Brahman fail.───→here13.3───→18.61The yantrin reading forecloses the residue.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

13.2The whole vibhūti clinches sāmānādhikaraṇya.───→here13.3───→18.42Even brāhmaṇa grounded here.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

12.20The devotee holds this teaching dearest.───→here13.3───→13.21Clinging to modes is why you are reborn.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workbetween

7.12The modes come from the Lord, not in Him.───→here13.3───→13.21Clinging to modes causes any new birth.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartbetween

10.20I am the Self in every heart.───→here13.3───→13.17The Knowable lives as the inner light.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursbetween

6.3Body, senses, and mind: none of them yours.───→here13.3───→13.20Nature causes the act; you only experience.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here13.3───→

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktaapproach

───→here13.3───→13.20Both natures cause the body's binding.

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidexit

12.12'Shreyo hi jnanam abhyasaj jnanad dhyanam vishishyate, dhyanat karma-phala-tyaga───→here13.3───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalE

Field and field-knower as Parameśvarastation

───→here13.3───→

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personstation

───→here13.3───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

9.9Like one detached, not actually───→here13.3───→13.30Seer of non-action by Hari's light

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

6.9Souls differ by nature not by accident alone.───→here13.3───→13.23Soul and Lord coexist in the body, not as one.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

9.9He sits like one detached, not actually detached.───→here13.3───→13.30The seer of non-action sees by Hari's light.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causebetween

12.12Anabhimlāna-śruti names every rung in order.───→here13.3───→13.25Three classes, one ladder, each class on a different rung.

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

13.2For their rescue, truth-knowledge is uttered.───→here13.3───→18.66I shall release you from every wrong.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugebetween

9.29Even to all — yet near to those who turn.───→here13.3───→13.10A steady evenness is the seeker's mark.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spinebetween

13.2I lift my devotees, so I now teach truth.───→here13.3───→14.1Now, the highest of all knowings.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

13.1Skipped — the next verse's prelude does the work.───→here13.3───→13.24The threefold-knower catalogue goes to silence.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentarybetween

13.2The Lord himself writes the third ṣaṭka. .───→here13.3───→15.15The bhāṣya-author is named by the Lord himself.

ŚrīdharaclassicalG

Soul as His portion, neither cut nor identicalapproach

───→here13.3───→14.26Fit for the state of brahman, not fused.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerexit

11.34Already slain — the question is finally retired.───→here13.3───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalC

Vision is the structural centerexit

11.49Cosmic returns to gracious; ananya means non-dual.───→here13.3───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departureexit

11.46Cosmic and gracious one self-luminous.───→here13.3───→

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderexit

13.2The third ṣaṭka is the Lord's own bhāṣya.───→here13.3───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorstation

───→here13.3───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

13.2One Self lights every body as one sun lights all.───→here13.3───→18.66Beginningless habit ends only with self-knowledge.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedbetween

5.29Knowing Me, all wandering ceases at once.───→here13.3───→13.34One Self, untouched, in every body.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentbetween

13.2'Cāpi' marks two — not one identity.───→here13.3───→15.15Memory and forgetting both come from Him.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

13.1The kṣetra-question resolves 12.20's hint.───→here13.3───→18.1Tyāga-question resolves ch. 16-17's typology.

JayatīrthaclassicalA

Body and embodied — the inference runs on the dehī sidebetween

2.24Uncuttable, unburnt, steady, all-pervading.───→here13.3───→13.5Field and knower: body-self cut returns.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

11.16Aneka- is not just two-or-more.───→here13.3───→13.5Brahma-sūtra is text, not just utterance.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

11.16Aneka- means many; no upacāra needed.───→here13.3───→13.5Brahma-sūtra is text, not paraphrase.

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesbetween

12.20Saguṇa worship ripens into nirguṇa knowing.───→here13.3───→13.13Only the formless can be the ultimately taught.

MadhusūdanaclassicalH

Krishna with form is the ground beneath formless Brahmanbetween

11.55The crystal verse names the saguṇa in absolute form.───→here13.3───→13.13Not a power-of-the-Lord; the Lord himself, formless.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingexit

11.55Acting for Me, holding Me supreme — that is the road.───→here13.3───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningexit

13.1The last six work what 'are' really means.───→here13.3───→

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentbetween · v2

6.35Practice and dispassion───→here13.3───→13.8Field-knowledge as virtues

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

5.14Lord neither acts nor causes───→here13.3───→13.20Prakriti causes, puruṣa enjoys

Śabda · lemmas (11 unique · 21 occurrences)

समासेन samāsena — in brief, summarily (instr. of samāsa)

show all 11

यत्·यद्·यः yad ×5 — which, who (relative pronoun) · nominative neuter singular noun / compound / nominative masculine singular noun
च ca ×5 — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
तत्·स tad ×3 — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · nominative neuter singular noun / nominative masculine singular noun / accusative neuter singular noun
क्षेत्रम् kṣetra — field, body (as the field of experience) · nominative neuter singular noun
यादृश् yādṛś — of which kind, such as · nominative neuter singular noun
विकारि vikārin — modifying, changing (vi- + √kṛ + -in) · nominative neuter singular noun
यतस् yatas — whence, since, because
प्रभावः prabhāva — (pra- + bhāva: being) · nominative masculine singular noun
मे mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · genitive singular noun
शृणु śru — to hear (verbal root) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb

Praśna · so what (7)

01If the same consciousness (kshetrajña) underlies every body from a god to an insect, what changes when we move from body to body — and what does not change at all?
02Krishna says 'hear from me' (mat-tah shriṇu) — why is direct transmission from the teacher essential here, rather than inference or scripture alone?

show all 7

03The verse lists four dimensions of the field: substance, transformations, cause, and purpose. Which of these do we ordinarily confuse with the self, and how?
04Shridhara says knowledge that fails to distinguish field from knower is 'empty scholarship' (vritha panditya) that binds rather than frees. What does that look like in practice today?
05Vallabha insists that even the ability to know the field correctly is received as divine grace (mat-svabhavapanna), not earned by the jiva's effort. What follows for how we relate to insight when it arises?
06Madhva's entire rendering collapses into one word: the kshetrajña is real, distinct, and subordinate to Hari. Why might extreme conciseness itself be a doctrinal act?
07All six schools agree the verse ends with an invitation to listen (shriṇu). What disposition must the listener bring for this hearing to become transformative rather than merely informational?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you feel overwhelmed by what your body or mind is doing, practice pausing and asking 'who is aware of this?' — the one that notices anger, fatigue, or elation is the kshetrajña, and it is never itself angry, tired, or elated. The shift from 'I am anxious' to 'anxiety is arising in the field I witness' is the small daily form of the Advaita pivot this verse describes.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In a relationship or work context, try mapping the four dimensions Ramanuja names: what is the substance of this situation, what is its ground, what are its transformations over time, and what purpose does it serve within Bhagavan's whole? This fourfold inquiry replaces reactive identification with a structured, devotional seeing of the situation as Bhagavan's body.

show all 6

Dvaita

Madhva's reading asks you to hold your own distinctness without arrogance: you are genuinely a knower, your experience is real, and you are irreducibly yourself — yet that self exists entirely in dependence on Hari. In a moment of pride or self-sufficiency, the Dvaita application is to acknowledge your real faculties while simultaneously returning credit and initiative to the sovereign source.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's application: when a moment of genuine clarity or compassion arises spontaneously — something you did not engineer — receive it as Bhagavan's nature flowing through you rather than claiming it as your accomplishment. The practice is to notice the grace in the moment of knowing itself, and to protect that knowing (rakshet) by not immediately converting it into ego-capital.

Bhakti

Shridhara's everyday test: after any period of study, teaching, or spiritual practice, ask whether it has softened the grip of 'I am this body-mind' or merely added another layer of conceptual pride. If the knowledge does not loosen identification with the field, it is the 'empty scholarship' the bhashya warns against — and the corrective is less information and more direct devotional contact.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusudana's synthesis suggests a two-move daily practice: first, recognize that the situation or difficulty before you is 'field' — real enough practically but not the ultimate ground; second, rest attention in the witnessing awareness that is also Krishna himself. This is neither escapism nor mere devotion but the double act of both releasing attachment to the field and loving the consciousness that underlies it.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 13, Verse 3: Krishna to Arjuna — Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña-Vibhāga-Yoga