Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga · Verse 3

Bhagavad Gita 13.3

Knowing the field is incomplete without knowing the knower.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla. Commentary AI-drafted, human-reviewed. Reviewed June 2026. Methodology →

क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत ।
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
हे भरतवंशोद्भव अर्जुन तू सम्पूर्ण क्षेत्रोंमें क्षेत्रज्ञ मेरेको ही समझ और क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञका जो ज्ञान है, वही मेरे मतमें ज्ञान है ॥
English
Know Me as the knower in all fields, Arjuna. In my view, true knowledge is knowing the field and the knower of the field.

What this verse means

Know Krishna as the knower present in every field. Real knowledge is understanding both the field and the one who knows it.

Context & commentary

On the battlefield, Arjuna is asking what is real beneath body, mind, and change. Krishna answers that the body is the field, and the knower within every field is also his own presence. That distinction becomes the heart of this teaching.

Why this verse still matters

You stare at your reflection after a brutal argument and think, 'I am this mess.' The verse interrupts that collapse: what changes is the field; awareness is deeper than the damage.

The takeaway

You are not trapped inside the changing field; awareness itself is the deeper reality.

Word-by-word translation

क्षेत्रज्ञम् (knower of the field) / च (and) / अपि (also) / माम् (Me) / विद्धि (know) / सर्वक्षेत्रेषु (in all fields) / भारत (Arjuna) / क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोः (of field and knower of the field) / ज्ञानम् (knowledge) / यत् (which) / तत् (that) / ज्ञानम् (knowledge) / मतम् (considered) / मम (My)

Explore related themes: kshetrajna (20 verses), kshetra (14 verses)

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