Bhagavad Gita · Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga YogaChapter 13, Shloka 2 (13.2)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत् तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम
॥ 13.2 ॥
kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetrakṣetrajñayorjñānaṃ yat tajjñānaṃ mataṃ mama
Translation
"O Bharata, know Me also as the knower of the field in all fields. The knowledge of the field and the knower of the field — in My view, that alone is (true) knowledge."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya — oneness. kṣetrajñaṃ yathoktalakṣaṇaṃ cāpi māṃ parameśvaram asaṃsāriṇaṃ viddhi — know the knower of the field to be Me, the Supreme Lord who is beyond samsara; brahmādistambaparyantānekakṣetropādhipravibhaktaḥ, taṃ nirastasarvopādhibhedaṃ … viddhi — from Brahma down to a blade of grass, it appears divided among many limiting adjuncts (upadhis), but with the adjuncts removed, it is one.
Acharya Ramanuja — the Self of the self. devamanuṣyādisarvakṣetreṣu veditṛtvaikākāraṃ kṣetrajñaṃ ca māṃ viddhi — madātmakaṃ viddhi — know the knower of the field, which in all bodies has the one form of a knower, as having Me as its Self (madatmaka); api śabdāt kṣetram api māṃ viddhi — from the word "api", the field too; for just as the field is an attribute of the knower of the field (inseparable from it), so the field and the knower of the field are My attributes.
Shridhara Swami. taṃ ca kṣetrajñaṃ saṃsāriṇaṃ jīvaṃ vastutaḥ sarvakṣetreṣv anugataṃ mām eva viddhi — know that knower of the field, the individual soul, to be in truth Myself, pervading all bodies. And the test of knowledge: anyat tu vṛthā pāṇḍityam — everything else is useless learning; the authority: tat karma yan na bandhāya sā vidyā yā vimuktaye — that is action which does not bind, that is knowledge which sets free.
Madhusudana Saraswati. kṣetraṃ māyākalpitaṃ mithyā kṣetrajñaś ca paramārthasatyaḥ — the field is imagined by maya, the knower of the field is the ultimate truth (an Advaita reading).
Shankaracharya — further. He raises a hard question: if there is one Ishvara in all bodies, then īśvarasya saṃsāritvaṃ prāptam — has Ishvara become bound in samsara? Then he answers it with the doctrine of avidya (ignorance).
Acharya Ramanuja — further. The field and the knower of the field, madviśeṣaṇataikasvabhāvatayā madapṛthaksiddheḥ — being My attributes, are inseparable from Me; and he quotes 15.16–15.17 — the Supreme Person is distinct from the perishable and the imperishable.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.