Know both Prakriti and Purusha to be beginningless, and know the modifications and qualities to arise from Prakriti.
— Krishna
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Bhagavad Gita · 13.20
Hindi · हिन्दी
प्रकृति और पुरुष दोनोंको ही तुम अनादि समझो और विकारों तथा गुणोंको भी प्रकृतिसे ही उत्पन्न समझो । कार्य और करणके द्वारा होनेवाली क्रियाओंको उत्पन्न करनेमें प्रकृति हेतु कही जाती है और सुखदुःखोंके भोक्तापनमें पुरुष हेतु कहा जाता है ॥
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
प्रकृतिम्Prakritiपुरुषम्Purushaचandएवindeedविद्धिknowअनादीbeginninglessउभौbothअपिalsoविकारान्modificationsचandगुणान्qualitiesचandएवindeedविद्धिknowप्रकृति-संभवान्born from Prakriti
Read literallyPrakriti · Purusha · and · indeed · know · beginningless · both · also · modifications · and · qualities · and · indeed · know · born from Prakriti
Understanding the verse
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Prakriti and Purusha are both beginningless, Krishna says, and every change and quality comes from Prakriti.
Both nature and the conscious knower are without beginning. All changes and qualities come from nature, not from the knower.
02
On the battlefield
Context & commentary
After describing what can be known, Krishna now separates the changeless witness from changing nature, showing where action, qualities, and experience arise.
03
In your life
What it looks like today
A mother watches her toddler swing from laughter to a tantrum in a minute and does not think the child has become someone else. Krishna puts such changes and qualities in prakriti, apart from the knower.
The takeaway
“You stop confusing what changes with what merely sees the change.”
Both nature and the conscious knower are without beginning. All changes and qualities come from nature, not from the knower.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 13.20?
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga" (Field and Knower of the Field).
Which chapter of the Bhagavad Gita contains verse 13.20?
Verse 20 sits in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad Gita — Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga, "Field and Knower of the Field". The chapter has 35 verses in total.
Why does Bhagavad Gita 13.20 matter today?
A mother watches her toddler swing from laughter to a tantrum in a minute and does not think the child has become someone else. Krishna puts such changes and qualities in prakriti, apart from the knower.
Prakriti and Purusha are both beginningless, Krishna says, and every change and quality comes from Prakriti.
What this verse means
Both nature and the conscious knower are without beginning. All changes and qualities come from nature, not from the knower.
Context & commentary
After describing what can be known, Krishna now separates the changeless witness from changing nature, showing where action, qualities, and experience arise.
What it looks like today
A mother watches her toddler swing from laughter to a tantrum in a minute and does not think the child has become someone else. Krishna puts such changes and qualities in prakriti, apart from the knower.
“You stop confusing what changes with what merely sees the change.”
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), prakriti (31 verses), kshetrajna (20 verses)