A core teaching · reflective in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“What you call “me” is a changing system, not a single thing.”
The five great elements, ego, intellect, the unmanifest, the ten senses, the one mind, and the five sense-objects: this is the field in brief.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallythe five great elements · ego · intellect · the unmanifest · indeed · and · the senses · ten · one · and · five · and · sense-objects
The body-mind world is made of many parts: elements, ego, intellect, senses, mind, and sense-objects. Krishna is naming the field so Arjuna can see it clearly.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga" (Field and Knower of the Field).
Verse 6 sits in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad Gita — Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga, "Field and Knower of the Field". The chapter has 35 verses in total.
You sit in a therapist’s office after saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” The first relief is naming the parts: body, thoughts, impulses, roles, reactions. Clarity starts there.
Did you like this verse?
It trains the mind to dissect experience into components instead of collapsing everything into a single identity.
What this verse means
The body-mind world is made of many parts: elements, ego, intellect, senses, mind, and sense-objects. Krishna is naming the field so Arjuna can see it clearly.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield, Arjuna is frozen, and Krishna begins mapping reality with precision. After introducing the field and the knower of the field, he lists the twenty-four components that make up the field itself, so Arjuna can separate what changes from what knows.
Why this verse still matters
You sit in a therapist’s office after saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” The first relief is naming the parts: body, thoughts, impulses, roles, reactions. Clarity starts there.
“You stop mistaking your changing equipment for who you are.”
Explore related themes: buddhi (26 verses), indriya (19 verses), kshetra (14 verses)