Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 13, Verse 3
Verse 3
Hard VerseThe Yoga of the Field and the Knower of the Field
Know Me also as the knower of the field in all fields, O descendant of Bharata. To know both the field and the knower of the field — that I consider to be true knowledge.
Context & Meaning
The most breathtaking sentence in this opening: "Know Me also as the knower of the field in all fields." Krishna declares that He is not just Arjuna's knower-of-the-field — He is the supreme Knower dwelling in every body in the universe. There is one individual knower in each body, but behind all individual knowers is the ultimate witness — the supreme Self, which is Krishna. This verse captures both the unity and the distinction that run throughout the Gita: the individual soul is real, and so is the Supreme Soul, and the relationship between them is the deepest mystery.
Scholar Commentaries
2 commentaries · Public domainAdi Shankaracharya
AdvaitaFrom the Advaita perspective, this verse reveals the ultimate truth: there is only one Knower — Brahman — appearing as the individual self in each field. The appearance of multiplicity is māyā. True knowledge consists in recognizing that the witness in one's own heart and the supreme witness underlying all existence are identical.
Madhvacharya
DvaitaKrishna is the supreme kṣetrajña — the ultimate Knower — while individual souls are also knowers but of a subordinate and dependent kind. The soul knows its own field; God knows all fields. This difference in scope and independence is the eternal distinction between God and the soul.