The main subject of the discourse.
The body and the soul.
श्रीभगवानुवाच :—
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥ १ ॥
śrībhagavānuvāca :—
idaṃ śarīraṃ kaunteya kṣetramityabhidhīyate .
etadyo vetti taṃ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tadvidaḥ .. 1 ..
The Blessed Lord said :
This, the body, O son of Kuntī, is called Kṣetra; him who knows it, they who know of them call Kṣetrajña.
Read the commentary
In the words ‘the body’ the Lord specifies the thing referred to by the pronoun ‘this.’ Kṣetra—the field, the body, matter—is so called because it is shielded from injury, or because it is destructible, or because it is liable to decay, or because the fruits of actions are reaped in it as in a field. This body is designated as ‘Kṣetra,’ ‘the field’ ‘matter.’ He who knows this Kṣetra, i.e., he who comprehends it in understanding from head to foot, He who perceives it as distinct from himself by knowledge, natural or imparted by others,—him they designate as Kṣetrajña, ‘the knower of the field,’ ‘the comprehender of matter,’—they who know of Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña.
Identity of the soul with the Lord.
Thus Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña have been described.—Is this all the knowledge that one has to acquire about them?—No Listen :