THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 13
VERSE NUMBER 03
KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE KSHETRA AND THE KSHETRAJNA:
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:
tat kshetram yach cha yaadrik cha yadvikaari yatas cha yat
sa cha yo yat prabhaavas cha tat samaasena me srrnnu
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:
tat = that: kshetram = field: tat = which: cha = and: yaadrrk; = what like: cha = and: yaadrrk = what like: cha = and: yadvikaari = what its modifications: yatah = whence: cha = and: yat = what: sah = he: cha = and: yah = who: yat prabhaavah = what his powers: cha = and: yah = who: tat = that: samaasena = in brief: me = from me: srrnnu = hear.
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
Hear briefly from Me, what the Kshetra is, what its properties are, what its modifications are, whence is what; and who He is and what His powers are.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Naught exists and naught remains to be known outside the pale of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna. The Vedas and the Vedanta philosophy are all directed to the enquiry into these two ultimate Realities. All the branches of knowledge that are so far revealed and that are yet to be revealed, that are conventionally divided into the sacred and the secular—all of them are engaged in explaining either the Kshetra or the Kshetrajna or both.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
I will tell you, O Arjuna, what the field is, why the body is called the field, what are its modifications or changes; in other words what effects arise in it from what causes, to whom it belongs, whether it is cultivated or whether it grows wild.
That field refers to the field mentioned in verse 1.
Who He is: Who is that knower of the field? What are His powers (Prabhavas are powers such as the power of seeing, hearing, etc.) which originate from the limiting adjuncts (such as the eyes, the ears, etc.)? Do thou hear My speech which describes succinctly the real nature of the field and the knower of the field in all these specific aspects?
Arjuna, I am quite sure that thou wilt clearly comprehend the truth on hearing My speech.
The body is the field. The ten senses represent the ten bulls. The bulls work unceasingly day and night through the field of the objects of the senses. The mind is the supervisor. The individual soul is the tenant. The five vital airs (Pranas) are the five labourers. The Primordial Nature is the mistress of the field. This field is Her property. She Herself watches over the field vigilantly. She is endowed with the three qualities. Rajas sows the seed; Sattva guards it; Tamas reaps the harvest. On the threshing floor of Mahat-Tattva (the cosmic mind) with the help of the ox called time, She—Primordial Nature—thrashes out the corn. If the individual soul does evil actions, it sows the seeds of sin, manures with evil, reaps a crop of sin, and undergoes the pains of Samsara, viz., birth, decay, old age, sickness, and the three kinds of afflictions. If it does virtuous actions it sows the good seeds of virtue and reaps a crop of happiness.
Lord Krishna now speaks very highly in the following verse of the true nature of the field and the knower of the field in order to create interest in the hearer.
Comments by the blogger:
Sri Krishna is very fond of teaching Arjuna, who is an ideal student. Even if we take the verse number 0 as an interpolation, there is nothing wanting here. Sri Bhagavan Himself has come out with short and succinct explanation all about the field or Shetra and the Knower of the field, Shetrajna.
According to Sri Shankara, the Shetra as defined in verse 13-1- is dealt with more information. The word ‘tat’ means ‘that’ and that stands for the human body. Or it could be said, ‘this body’.
The very words, this body, has the connotation of changes or modifications in this body. That is, except for the knower of the field or the Shetrajna, everything about the human body is subject to constant changes. The moment a child is born the process of life goes on towards the death of the body. This is ineffable. The human body is perishable. But the knower of the field or Shetrajna is imperishable and eternal. Even though Shetrajna is imperishable and not subject to any modifications it (Shetrajna) completely depends on the perishable body or field. Only through the perishable body, the imperishable Knower of the Field can enjoy this world. It could sound like an irony that the Imperishable is dependent of the Perishable. This is the reason why we must give our body great care. Simply because it is stated by great people that the moment the child is born the travel toward death starts, this body should not be looked upon with a sneer. This perishable body is very important for us or for the Knower of the Field to work out the Praraptha Karma. Even great Saints are subject to this law! When a practitioner of Yoga attains mukti while he or she is living in this world, the saint is said to have attained Jivan Mukti. And the Practitioner is called a Jivanmukta. Even such Jivanmuktas are subject to that part of the Praraptha Karma that still needs to be worked out. But when a practitioner attains Jivan Mukti, all his or her ‘Sanchita Karma’ will get washed away or burnt in the fire of intense Yoga Practice. But even then, the Jivanmukta will have to work out the remaining Karma, Praraptha, which had given this life and station in the world for the Practitioner! Sri Ramakrishna had a cancerous boil in his forearm. He suffered for quite sometime before the attainment of Maha Samathi. So even Jivan Muktas need to work out the balance of the Praratha Karma and thus become free from the Pracrity or Nature and attain Eternity!
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