श्रीभगवानुवाच ।इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca |idaṃ śarīraṃ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate |etad yo vetti taṃ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tad-vidaḥ ||
- इदम् शरीरम् · idam śarīram
- this body
- कौन्तेय · kaunteya
- O son of Kunti
- क्षेत्रम् · kṣetram
- the field
- अभिधीयते · abhidhīyate
- is called
- वेत्ति · vetti
- knows
- प्राहुः · prāhuḥ
- they call
- क्षेत्रज्ञः · kṣetrajñaḥ
- the knower of the field
- तद्विदः · tad-vidaḥ
- the knowers of that
“The Blessed Lord said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field. Whoever knows it is called the knower of the field by those who understand this.”
— Original plain-language translation
The chapter's master distinction is drawn at once: body as field (kshetra), awareness as its knower (kshetrajna). 'Field' suggests a place where seeds of action are sown and reaped — the body as the ground of experience, not the self.
— Reader's notes (original)