Bg. 13.4 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च‍ यादृक्‍च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत् । स च यो यत्प्रभावश्च तत्समासेन मे श‍ृणु ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca yad-vikāri yataś ca yat sa ca yo yat-prabhāvaś ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu

Synonyms

tat — that ; kṣetram — field of activities ; yat — what ; ca — also ; yādṛk — as it is ; ca — also ; yat — having what ; vikāri — changes ; yataḥ — from which ; ca — also ; yat — what ; saḥ — he ; ca — also ; yaḥ — who ; yat — having what ; prabhāvaḥ — influence ; ca — also ; tat — that ; samāsena — in summary ; me — from Me ; śṛṇu — understand.

Translation

Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

4. Hear from Me briefly what is the composition of this field, what are its qualities, what are its transformations, from where it originates, by what varieties it is known, who is the knower and what are his powers.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

4. Hear from Me briefly the composition of this field, its contents, its transformations, its origin and its svarūpa. Hear from Me also about the knower of the field—his svarūpa, and his powers.

Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)

Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are. (cn) There are five differents points that Krsna makes here and they are actually described in the remaining verses of this Chapter. Although Krsna answers the six questions of Arjuna, in the remaining verses of this Chapter, He also explains all these points in relationship to the field of activities. In this verse Krsna explains about these points briefly but the next verse (5), He explains where these points are expanded for further study in case one wants to know more then the brief description that Krsna is now giving in the rest of the chapter. (DS) Four more things about ksetra will be described in this Chapter: (1) what is it made of; (2) the nature of ksetra; (3) its transformations, and (4) its source. And two things about ksetrajna: (1) its nature and (2) its influence. All these will be explained in brief. Why? Because this knowledge is unlimited.

Purport

The Lord is describing the field of activities and the knower of the field of activities in their constitutional positions. One has to know how this body is constituted, the materials of which this body is made, under whose control this body is working, how the changes are taking place, wherefrom the changes are coming, what the causes are, what the reasons are, what the ultimate goal of the individual soul is, and what the actual form of the individual soul is. One should also know the distinction between the individual living soul and the Supersoul, their different influences, their potentials, etc. One just has to understand this Bhagavad-gītā directly from the description given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all this will be clarified. But one should be careful not to consider the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every body to be one with the individual soul, the jīva. This is something like equating the potent and the impotent.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Now the Lord begins to elaborate on what He has said previously in abbreviated form. Hear from Me in brief of what the body consists (yac ca)— a conglomeration of five gross elements, prāṇa, senses and other things; what qualities it exhibits (yadṛk)— such as desire and hatred; what its transformations are (yad-vikāri)—into desirable or undesirable things; from what it arises (yataḥ)—from the combination of matter and soul; by what it is distinguished (yat)—by differences among various moving or non-moving bodies; and who (yaḥ) is he (sa)—the knower of the field—the jīva and the Paramātmā. The neuter form singular yat and tat are used instead of the masculine, though jīva, Paramātmā and the field are referred to, by the rule of grammar napuṁsakam anapuṁsakennaikavac ca (Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pāṇini 1.2.69). If there is a group of items with the same base of various genders including neuter, the neuter gender can be used to indicate all of them. This operation is called eka-śeṣa (single remainder).

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

What the Lord said in abbreviated form He now discusses in detail. Hear from Me briefly about the body (kṣetram), its basic components or dravya (yac ca), what it gives shelter to, its contents (yādṛk), its transformations (yad vikāri), the purpose of its appearance (yataḥ), its svarūpa (yat), and the knower of the field—the jīva and the Lord (sa ca), their svarūpas and energies (yat prabhāvaḥ). Neuter case (yat and tat) is used for the items by the rule napuṁsakam anapuṁsakenaikav cāsyānyatrasyām (Pāṇini 1.2.69). If there is a group of items of various genders including neuter with the same base, the neuter gender can be used to indicate all of them.