प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि ।
विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसंभवान् ॥
विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसंभवान् ॥
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 ॥
English
Know both Prakriti and Purusha to be beginningless, and know the modifications and qualities to arise 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
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna stands frozen while Krishna explains the field and its knower. After describing what can be known, Krishna now separates the changeless witness from changing nature, showing where action, qualities, and experience arise.
Why this verse still matters
You feel moods, impulses, and labels shifting all day, then call them “me.” This verse cuts that confusion and points to the deeper awareness beneath the churn.
The takeaway
You stop confusing what changes with what merely sees the change.
Word-by-word translation
प्रकृतिम् (Prakriti) / पुरुषम् (Purusha) / च (and) / एव (indeed) / विद्धि (know) / अनादी (beginningless) / उभौ (both) / अपि (also) / विकारान् (modifications) / च (and) / गुणान् (qualities) / च (and) / एव (indeed) / विद्धि (know) / प्रकृति-संभवान् (born from Prakriti)
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13: Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga — Field and Knower of the Field, which contains 35 verses.
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), prakriti (31 verses), kshetrajna (20 verses)