Bg. 13.19

BG 13.19

Devanagari

इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासत: । मद्भ‍क्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भ‍ावायोपपद्यते ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

iti kṣetraṁ tathā jṣānaṁ jṣeyaṁ coktaṁ samāsataḥ mad-bhakta etad vijṣāya mad-bhāvāyopapadyate

Synonyms

iti thus ; kṣetram the field of activities (the body) ; tathā also ; jṣānam knowledge ; jṣeyam the knowable ; ca also ; uktam described ; samāsataḥ in summary ; mat-bhaktaḥ My devotee ; etat all this ; vijṣāya after understanding ; mat-bhāvāya to My nature ; upapadyate attains.

Translation

Thus the field of activities [the body], knowledge and the knowable have been summarily described by Me. Only My devotees can understand this thoroughly and thus attain to My nature.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

19. Thus I have described concisely the field, the process of knowing, and the object of knowledge. My devotee, understanding this, attains prema.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

19. Thus I have described concisely the field, the process of knowing, and the object of knowledge. My devotee, understanding this, becomes qualified for prema.

Purport

The Lord has described in summary the body, knowledge and the knowable. This knowledge is of three things: the knower, the knowable and the process of knowing. Combined, these are called vijṣāna, or the science of knowledge. Perfect knowledge can be understood by the unalloyed devotees of the Lord directly. Others are unable to understand. The monists say that at the ultimate stage these three items become one, but the devotees do not accept this. Knowledge and development of knowledge mean understanding oneself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are being led by material consciousness, but as soon as we transfer all consciousness to Kṛṣṇa’s activities and realize that Kṛṣṇa is everything, then we attain real knowledge. In other words, knowledge is nothing but the preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfectly. In the Fifteenth Chapter this will be very clearly explained. Now, to summarize, one may understand that verses 6 and 7, beginning from mahā-bhūtāni and continuing through cetanā dhṛtiḥ, analyze the material elements and certain manifestations of the symptoms of life. These combine to form the body, or the field of activities. And verses 8 through 12, from amānitvam through tattva-jṣānārtha-darśanam, describe the process of knowledge for understanding both types of knower of the field of activities, namely the soul and the Supersoul. Then verses 13 through 18, beginning from anādi mat-param and continuing through hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam, describe the soul and the Supreme Lord, or the Supersoul. Thus three items have been described: the field of activity (the body), the process of understanding, and both the soul and the Supersoul. It is especially described here that only the unalloyed devotees of the Lord can understand these three items clearly. So for these devotees Bhagavad-gītā is fully useful; it is they who can attain the supreme goal, the nature of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. In other words, only devotees, and not others, can understand Bhagavad-gītā and derive the desired result.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse the Lord summarizes the topic about the field and other items previously described, along with the result for those who practice. The field consists of the items starting with the five gross elements and ending with dhṛti or perseverance in verses 5 and 6. Knowledge was described starting with pridelessness (amānitvam) and ending with reviewing the goal of liberation (tattva-jṣānārtha-darśanam) in verses 7 through 11. The object of knowledge to be attained by the process of knowledge was described in verses 12 through 18, starting with the word anādi and ending with the word dhiṣṭhitam. The one truth known as Brahman, meaning Bhagavān and Paramātmā, has thus been briefly described. The jṣānī endowed with some devotion (mad-bhaktaḥ), knowing this, merges with Me (mad bhāvāya). An alternate meaning of the sentence is “My ekanta-bhakta, understanding that I, his master, have such powers (etad vijṣāya), becomes endowed with prema (mad-bhāvāya) for Me.”

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

Here the Lord concludes the topic of the field and knower of the field, mentioning as well the results of attaining this knowledge. The Lord described the svarūpa of field starting with mahā-bhūtāni and ending with cetanā dhṛtir. He described the process for gaining knowledge of the two knowers of the field, starting with amānitvam and ending with tattva-jṣānārtha-darśanam. He described the two knowers of the field staring with anādi mat-param and ending with hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam. Knowing these three topics, understanding them by discrimination, My devotee becomes qualified for prema to Me (mad bhāvāya). Or he becomes qualified for My nature (svabhāvāya), for being free from material existence.

Surrender Unto Me

If one is not a devotee he will be confused by this and will misunderstand. [E. KRSNA ANSWERS QUESTIONS 1 AND 2: PRAKRTI, PURUSA AND THEIR UNION (13. 20‑26) 1. Prakrti, purusa (the 'jiva' ksetrajna), and their union: Material nature causes all material changes and effects, and the living entity meets with good and bad according to the qualities that he has acquired due to his association with material nature. (20‑22) ]