Arjuna

Arjuna

Devotee & Warrior

The great Pandava warrior and skilled archer. Overwhelmed by moral dilemma on the battlefield, he seeks guidance from Krishna, becoming the ideal disciple.

Speaking: Chapter 13, Verse 1

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Verse 1

The Yoga of the Field and the Knower of the Field

Arjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to know about Prakriti (Nature) and Purusha (the Self), the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and the object of knowledge.

Context & Meaning

Arjuna opens Chapter 13 with a fourfold question — one of the most philosophically concentrated inquiries in the entire Gita. He asks about Prakriti and Purusha (the two fundamental principles of Sankhya philosophy), the field and the knower of the field (a different but related conceptual pair), knowledge itself, and its ultimate object. This single verse sets the agenda for the entire chapter. Arjuna is no longer the grief-stricken warrior of Chapter 1; he has grown into a genuine philosopher seeking the deepest understanding of reality.

Scholar Commentaries

1 commentary · Public domain

Adi Shankaracharya

Advaita

Arjuna asks about four distinct but interrelated topics. The teaching that follows will show how they are ultimately united: the field is Prakriti, the knower of the field is Purusha, true knowledge consists in discriminating between them, and the object of knowledge is the supreme Brahman that underlies both.