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13 The Field and the Knower of the FieldArjuna Uvaacha:
Prakritim purusham chaiva kshetram kshetrajnameva cha; Arjuna said: 1. I wish to learn about Nature (matter) and the Spirit (soul), the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and that which ought to be known. Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Idam shareeram kaunteya kshetramityabhidheeyate; The Blessed Lord said: 2. This body, Arjuna, is called the Field; he who knows it is called the Knower of the Field by those who know of them, that is, by the sages.
Kshetrajnam chaapi maam viddhi sarvakshetreshu bhaarata; 3. Also know me as the Knower of the Field in all fields, Arjuna! Knowledge of both the Field and the Knower of the Field is considered by me to be theknowledge.
Tat kshetram yaccha yaadrik cha yadvikaari yatashcha yat; 4. What the Field is and of what nature, what its modifications are and whence it is, and also who he is and what his powers are – hear all that from me in brief.
Rishibhirbahudhaa geetam cchandobhirvividhaih prithak; 5. Sages have sung in many ways, in various distinctive chants and also in the suggestive words indicative of the Absolute, full of reasoning and decisive.
Mahaabhootaanyahankaaro buddhiravyaktameva cha; 6. The great elements, egoism, intellect and also unmanifested Nature, the ten senses and one, and the five objects of the senses, The one: this is the mind. The five objects of the senses are sound, touch, form colour, taste and smell.
Icchaa dweshah sukham duhkham sanghaatashchetanaa dhritih; 7. Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate (the body), fortitude and intelligence – the Field has thus been described briefly with its modifications.
Amaanitwam adambhitwam ahimsaa kshaantiraarjavam; 8. Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control,
Indriyaartheshu vairaagyamanahankaara eva cha; 9. Indifference to the objects of the senses, also absence of egoism, perception of (or reflection on) the evil in birth, death, old age, sickness and pain,
Asaktiranabhishwangah putradaaragrihaadishu; 10. Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable,
Mayi chaananyayogena bhaktiravyabhichaarinee; 11. Unswerving devotion to me by the Yoga of non-separation, resort to solitary places, distaste for the society of men,
Adhyaatma jnaana nityatwam tattwa jnaanaartha darshanam; 12. Constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the end of true knowledge – this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.
Jneyam yattat pravakshyaami yajjnaatwaa'mritamashnute; 13. I will declare that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to immortality, the beginningless supreme Brahman, called neither being nor non-being.
Sarvatah paanipaadam tat sarvato'kshishiromukham; 14. With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, he exists in the worlds, enveloping all.
Sarvendriyagunaabhaasam sarvendriyavivarjitam; 15. Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet their experiencer,
Bahirantashcha bhootaanaam acharam charameva cha; 16. Without and within (all) beings, the unmoving and also the moving; because of his subtlety, unknowable; and near and far away is That.
Avibhaktam cha bhooteshu vibhaktamiva cha sthitam; 17. And undivided, yet he exists as if divided in beings; he is to be known as the supporter of beings; he devours and he generates also.
Jyotishaamapi tajjyotistamasah paramuchyate; 18. That, the Light of all lights, is beyond darkness; it is said to be knowledge, the Knowable and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.
iti kshetram tathaa jnaanam jneyam choktam samaasatah; 19. Thus the Field as well as knowledge and the Knowable have been briefly stated. My devotee, knowing this, enters into my Being.
Prakritim purusham chaiva viddhyaanaadee ubhaavapi; 20. Know that Nature and Spirit are beginningless; and know also that all modifications and qualities are born of Nature.
Kaaryakaaranakartrutwe hetuh prakritiruchyate; 21. In the production of the effect and the cause, Nature (matter) is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, the soul is said to be the cause.
Purushah prakritistho hi bhungkte prakritijaan gunaan; 22. The soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.
Upadrashtaanumantaa cha bhartaa bhoktaa maheshwarah; 23. The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the spectator, the permitter, the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.
Ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih saha; 24. He who thus knows Spirit and Matter, together with the qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.
Dhyaanenaatmani pashyanti kechidaatmaanamaatmanaa; 25. Some by meditation behold the Self in the Self by the Self, others by the Yoga of knowledge, and others by the Yoga of action.
Anye twevamajaanantah shrutwaanyebhya upaasate; 26. Others also, not knowing thus, worship, having heard of it from others; they, too, cross beyond death, regarding what they have heard as the supreme refuge.
Yaavat sanjaayate kinchit sattwam sthaavarajangamam; 27. Wherever a being is born, whether it be unmoving or moving, know you, best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), that it is from the union between the Field and its Knower.
Samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshwaram; 28. He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord, existing equally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.
Samam pashyan hi sarvatra samavasthitameeshwaram; 29. Because he who sees the same Lord dwelling equally everywhere does not destroy the Self by the self, he goes to the highest goal.
Prakrityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashah; 30. He sees, who sees that all actions are performed by Nature alone and that the Self is actionless.
Yadaa bhootaprithagbhaavam ekastham anupashyati; 31. When a man sees the whole variety of beings as resting in the One, and spreading forth from That alone, he then becomes Brahman.
Anaaditwaan nirgunatwaat paramaatmaayam avyayah; 32. Being without beginning and devoid of (any) qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, Though dwelling in the body, Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted!
Yathaa sarvagatam saukshmyaadaakaasham nopalipyate; 33. As the all-pervading ether is not tainted because of its subtlety, so the Self seated everywhere in the body, is not tainted.
Yathaa prakaashayatyekah kritsnam lokamimam ravih; 34. Just as the one sun illumines the whole world, so also the Lord of the Field (the Supreme Self) illumines the whole Field, Arjuna!
Kshetrakshetrajnayor evam antaram jnaanachakshushaa; 35. They who, through the eye of knowledge, perceive the distinction between the Field and its Knower, and also the liberation from the Nature of being, they go to the Supreme.
14 The Division of the Three GunasSri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Param bhooyah pravakshyaami jnaanaanaam jnaanamuttamam; The Blessed Lord said: 1. I will again declare (to you) that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge, having known which all the sages have gone to the supreme perfection after this life.
Idam jnaanam upaashritya mama saadharmyam aagataah; 2. They who, having taken refuge in this knowledge, attain to unity with me, are neither born at the time of creation nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution.
Mama yonirmahadbrahma tasmin garbham dadhaamyaham; 3. My womb is the great Brahma; in that I place the germ; thence, Arjuna, is the birth of all beings!
Sarvayonishu kaunteya moortayah sambhavanti yaah; 4. Whatever forms are produced, Arjuna, in any womb whatever, the great Brahma is their womb and I am the seed-giving father.
Sattwam rajastama iti gunaah prakriti sambhavaah; 5. Purity, passion and inertia – these qualities, mighty-armed Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body, the embodied, the indestructible!
Tatra sattwam nirmalatwaat prakaashakam anaamayam; 6. Of these, Sattwa, which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to knowledge and to happiness, sinless one!
Rajo raagaatmakam viddhi trishnaasangasamudbhavam; 7. Know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst (for sensual enjoyment) and attachment; it binds fast, Arjuna, the embodied one by attachment to action!
Tamastwajnaanajam viddhi mohanam sarvadehinaam; 8. But know Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, Arjuna, by heedlessness, sleep and indolence!
Sattwam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmani bhaarata; 9. Sattwa attaches to happiness, Rajas to action, Arjuna, while Tamas, shrouding knowledge, attaches to heedlessness only!
Rajastamashchaabhibhooya sattwam bhavati bhaarata; 10. Now Sattwa prevails, Arjuna, having overpowered Rajas and Tamas; now Rajas, having overpowered Sattwa and Tamas; and now Tamas, having overpowered Sattwa and Rajas!
Sarvadwaareshu dehe'smin prakaasha upajaayate; 11. When, through every gate (sense) in this body, the wisdom-light shines, then it may be known that Sattwa is predominant.
Lobhah pravrittir aarambhah karmanaam ashamah sprihaa; 12. Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, longing – these arise when Rajas is predominant, Arjuna!
Aprakaasho'pravrittishcha pramaado moha eva cha; 13. Darkness, inertness, heedlessness and delusion – these arise when Tamas is predominant, Arjuna!
Yadaa sattwe pravriddhe tu pralayam yaati dehabhrit; 14. If the embodied one meets with death when Sattwa has become predominant, then he attains to the spotless worlds of the knowers of the Highest.
Rajasi pralayam gatwaa karmasangishu jaayate; 15. Meeting death in Rajas, he is born among those who are attached to action; and dying in Tamas, he is born in the womb of the senseless.
Karmanah sukritasyaahuh saattwikam nirmalam phalam; 16. The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattwic and pure; the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas.
Sattwaat sanjaayate jnaanam rajaso lobha eva cha; 17. From Sattwa arises knowledge, and greed from Rajas; heedlessness and delusion arise from Tamas, and ignorance also.
Oordhwam gacchanti sattwasthaa madhye tishthanti raajasaah; 18. Those who are seated in Sattwa proceed upwards; the Rajasic dwell in the middle; and the Tamasic, abiding in the function of the lowest Guna, go downwards.
Naanyam gunebhyah kartaaram yadaa drashtaanupashyati; 19. When the seer beholds no agent other than the Gunas, knowing that which is higher than them, he attains to my Being.
Gunaanetaanateetya treen dehee dehasamudbhavaan; 20. The embodied one, having crossed beyond these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality. Arjuna Uvaacha:
Kairlingais treen gunaanetaan ateeto bhavati prabho; Arjuna said: 21. What are the marks of him who has crossed over the three qualities, Lord? What is his conduct and how does he go beyond these three qualities? Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Prakaasham cha pravrittim cha mohameva cha paandava; The Blessed Lord said: 22. Light, activity and delusion, – when they are present, Arjuna, he hates not, nor does he long for them when they are absent!
Udaaseenavadaaseeno gunairyo na vichaalyate; 23. He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the qualities, and who, knowing that the qualities are active, is self-centred and moves not,
Samaduhkhasukhah swasthah samaloshtaashmakaanchanah; 24. Alike in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the unfriendly are alike, firm, the same in censure and praise,
Maanaapamaanayostulyas tulyo mitraaripakshayoh; 25. The same in honour and dishonour, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings – he is said to have crossed the qualities.
Maam cha yo'vyabhichaarena bhaktiyogena sevate; 26. And he who serves me with unswerving devotion, he, crossing beyond the qualities, is fit for becoming Brahman.
Brahmano hi pratishthaa'ham amritasyaavyayasya cha; 27. For I am the abode of Brahman, the immortal and the immutable, of everlasting Dharma and of absolute bliss.
15 The Supreme SpiritSri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Oordhwamoolam adhahshaakham ashwattham praahuravyayam; The Blessed Lord said: 1. They (the wise) speak of the indestructible peepul tree, having its root above and branches below, whose leaves are the metres or hymns; he who knows it is a knower of the Vedas.
Adhashchordhwam prasritaastasya shaakhaah 2. Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects are its buds; and below in the world of men stretch forth the roots, originating action.
Na roopamasyeha tathopalabhyate 3. Its form is not perceived here as such, neither its end nor its origin, nor its foundation nor resting place; having cut asunder this firmly-rooted peepultree with the strong axe of non-attachment,
Tatah padam tat parimaargitavyam 4. Then that goal should be sought after, whither having gone none returns again. Seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy.
Nirmaanamohaa jitasangadoshaa 5. Free from pride and delusion, victorious over the evil of attachment, dwelling constantly in the Self, their desires having completely turned away, freed from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach the eternal goal.
Na tadbhaasayate sooryo na shashaangko na paavakah; 6. Neither doth the sun illumine there, nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone there they return not; that is my supreme abode.
Mamaivaamsho jeevaloke jeevabhootah sanaatanah; 7. An eternal portion of myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to (itself) the (five) senses with the mind for the sixth, abiding in Nature.
Shareeram yadavaapnoti yacchaapyutkraamateeshwarah; 8. When the Lord obtains a body and when he leaves it, he takes these and goes (with them) as the wind takes the scents from their seats (flowers, etc.).
Shrotram chakshuh sparshanam cha rasanam ghraanameva cha; 9. Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste and smell, as well as the mind, he enjoys the objects of the senses.
Utkraamantam sthitam vaapi bhunjaanam vaa gunaanvitam; 10. The deluded do not see him who departs, stays and enjoys; but they who possess the eye of knowledge behold him.
Yatanto yoginashchainam pashyantyaatmanyavasthitam; 11. The yogis striving (for perfection) behold him dwelling in the Self; but, the unrefined and unintelligent, even Though striving, see him not.
Yadaadityagatam tejo jagad bhaasayate'khilam; 12. That light which residing in the sun, illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire – know that light to be Mine.
Gaam aavishya cha bhootaani dhaarayaamyaham ojasaa; 13. Permeating the earth I support all beings by (my) energy; and, having become the watery moon, I nourish all herbs.
Aham vaishwaanaro bhootwaa praaninaam dehamaashritah; 14. Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the body of living beings and, associated with the Prana and Apana, digest the fourfold food.
Sarvasya chaaham hridi sannivishto 15. And, I am seated in the hearts of all; from me are memory, knowledge, as well as their absence. I am verily that which has to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta, and the knower of the Vedas am I.
Dwaavimau purushau loke ksharashchaakshara eva cha; 16. Two Purushas there are in this world, the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are the perishable, and the Kutastha is called the imperishable.
Uttamah purushastwanyah paramaatmetyudaahritah; 17. But distinct is the Supreme Purusha called the highest Self, the indestructible Lord who, pervading the three worlds, sustains them.
Yasmaat ksharam ateeto'hamaksharaadapi chottamah; 18. As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared as the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas.
Yo maamevam asammoodho jaanaati purushottamam; 19. He who, undeluded, knows me thus as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all, worships me with his whole being (heart), Arjuna!
iti guhyatamam shaastram idamuktam mayaa'nagha; 20. Thus, this most secret science has been taught by me, sinless one! On knowing this, a man becomes wise, and all his duties are accomplished, Arjuna! |
