श्रीभगवानुवाच -
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ।। १३.१ ।।

śrī-bhagavān-uvāca-
idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram-ity-abhidhīyate |
etad-yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ || 13.1 ||

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The Kurukshetra dialogue now takes a significant turn. Arjuna’s distress and overwhelming grief made him seek sreyas (everlasting good). Krishna’s instructions began from this. sreyas, as Kathopanishad puts it, consists in raising one’s mind from the perishables to the Imperishable.

Krishna then dwelt on the nature of the unborn, immortal and ever-same Self. The Self always reigns above the dvandvas – pairs of opposites. One established in the Self is free of all problems and afflictions brought about by life in the world (2.21, 25 & 30). This Self-seatedness is to be accomplished by an active person like Arjuna, through interactional life alone.

The first six chapters of the dialogue thus discuss the interactional relevance of spiritual pursuit and wisdom. When understood and absorbed well, the exposition will infuse the mind and the intelligence with interactional excellence.

From the 7th chapter, Krishna focuses on the need for recognizing the supreme Reality as the one string passing through all objective manifestations – mighty as well as minute. This recognition should become wholesome and enfold all thoughts, attitudes and aims. It will then shine as a splendid note of devotional surrender and attunement to the Supreme. The Supreme alone shines. The visible existence, the sensory perceptions are all a display of the Supreme.

The theme of devotion continues up to the 12th chapter. In the 11th chapter, Arjuna wishes to see the visvarupa, but the vision steeps him in awe and fear rather than in ecstatic fondness. Krishna assures him that the essence of devotion lies in exclusive fondness for the Supreme and everything else is merely an aid to grow devotion. He then sets forth the characteristics of the devotee dear to His heart.

Concluding the dissertation on devotion, in the 13th chapter, Krishna takes up the third phase of spiritual sadhana – that of pure wisdom. He presents various categorizations to help the process of enlightenment. He also points to the final phase, where the seeker has to lay down all activities, to be steeped in still, contemplative absorption. These last six chapters of Bhagavad Gita dwell on the exposition of pure and subtle spiritual wisdom, as a crowning finale to karma and bhakti.

Remember, the dialogue had begun with some war overtones. Krishna clearly showed the imperishability of the Soul and the ephemerality of the world, exhorting Arjuna to fight on that strength of understanding (2.18, 19, 20, 21, 30, 32, 37; 3.30 & 4.42). To let Arjuna retreat from the interactional life was against the world-order. It is the dignity of man to pursue interactional life with the strength of wisdom, poise and harmony. Instilling the necessary resolve in Arjuna, Krishna felt, could be done only by imparting true spiritual wisdom. For, the Knowledge of Truth alone has the potential to empower our mind in any situation.

Spiritual Wisdom relieves affliction

Krishna’s message had the desired effect. Arjuna now is different from what he was hours before. In fact, this is what will happen to anyone steeped in distress, if only that plight leads him to an ardent enquiry, as it happened with Arjuna! If the distressed mind is receptive to timely advice of the Wise, every word imparted will work its magic, bringing redress and enlightenment. That is how Arjuna’s vishada (acute grief) became a vishada-yoga.

Spiritual wisdom first addresses the emotional aspect of the mind’s crisis. But very soon it goes deeper and enfolds the intelligence, whose wont is ever to seek further enlightenment. Once the intelligence is activated, the mind’s turmoil subsides.

In fact, the intelligence is meant to guide and inspire the mind. But, this much-needed alliance between the turbulent mind and the enlightened intelligence does not usually take place. Intelligence, if at all, comes to play later, often as hindsight. The mind overtakes the scene. Chaos, distress and conflict leading to helplessness, retreat and disharmony inevitably result. Arjuna himself epitomizes this common fate.

But, that Arjuna gets transformed. As he begins to enquire, Krishna’s exposition also broadens and deepens. Thus the war-front dialogue becomes a full-fledged spiritual discussion, making it an eternal Gospel capable of instilling in mankind sufficient strength and resolve to face life and achieve any dharmic (righteous) objective.

Discrimination between Subject and objects

The 13th chapter is titled as kshetra-kshetrajna-vibhaga-yoga. Human life always consists of complex interactions – interactions between objects and their Subject, the perceiver. All the perceivables constitute the field of objects, the kshetra. It includes one’s own body, with all its organs of knowledge and action. Ego, mind, intelligence, etc. are also ‘objects’ for this ‘Subject’. They are the subtle objects, the gross ones being those tangible to the senses.

As against this whole multitude of objects, there reigns only one Subject, the kshetrajna. This innermost Subject has only one function – to know. It knows the intelligence, the mind, the body, the surroundings, mother earth, the waters, air, fire, the sky and space, which together form the world of ‘objectude’.

Vishaya denotes the objectude in its entirety. And the one that knows the vishaya is called vishayi, the comprehender of objects, vishayas. The vishayi is the crux of spiritual life and sadhana. Earlier, in the 7th chapter, Krishna referred to the two distinct aspects of Nature – para-prakrti, the superior or primary aspect, and the apara-prakrti, the inferior or secondary aspect. In the apara or inferior, he listed the pancabhutas as well as the mind, intelligence and ego. The superior he called sentient and creative. He described it as jiva-bhutah.

Here, Krishna goes a step further to indicate what should be the sadhaka’s focus. To facilitate understanding, he enumerates a good deal of characteristics, bringing in many concepts, in the process enriching the very subject of spiritual wisdom. The main objective is to understand the complex world we are in.

Vishayi-vishaya distinction constitutes the core of spirituality, spiritual life and sadhana.

This body, O Kunti’s son, is regarded as the Field, and the one who knows it, say the Wise, is the Knower of the Field.

This body, says Krishna, is the kshetra. Kshetra means field. What does this imply? A field on earth is the ground for cultivating or growing plants. It is where we till the soil, make it loose, fertile and ready for sowing or planting. It becomes a field for agricultural activities, which bring forth food and nourishment. In the same manner, says Krishna, the seeker must regard his body as a field for spiritual cultivation, which can grow wisdom and nourishment the seeker needs and looks for. Our body has only one purpose: To be a field or instrument, which we can employ to bring about whatever we need in order to sustain and fulfill our life.

But this field, namely our body, is inert, insentient. To make the body functional, there exists the prime mover – its Knower, the kshetrajna. Kshetrajna has a completely different status. Kshetra is a material, biological aggregate, inert to the core. Kshetrajna, on the other hand, is sentient and is the source of knowledge. By dint of kshetrajna alone, one knows about his body as well as the world around and thereby interacts with the world.