Chapter 13 - Verse 26

that to be owing to the union of Kshetra and Kshetrajna.*

Everything is born of the union of Kshetra and Kshetrajna; there exists no being whatever apart from Kshetrajna who is one with the Paramatman; therefore knowledge of that unity alone can lead to moksha —A.

(Objection) :—Of what sort is this union of Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña meant to be? The union of Kṣetrajña with Kṣetra cannot certainly be a relation through contact (samyoga) of each other’s parts, as between a rope and a vessel, inasmuch as Kṣetrajña is, like the akasa, without parts. Nor can it be of the nature of samavaya or inseparable inherence, inasmuch as it cannot be admitted that Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña are related to each other as cause and effect.

(Answer) :—The union between Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña, between the object and the subject, which are opposed to each other in nature, is of the nature of mutual adhyasa; i. e., it consists in confounding them as well as their attributes with each other owing to the absence of a discrimination between the nature of Khetra and that of Kṣetrajña, like the union of a rope and a mother-of-pearl respectively with a snake and silver when they are mistaken the one for the other owing to the absence of discrimination. The union of Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña which is of the nature of adhyasa—which consists in confounding the one with the other—is a sort of illusion (mithyajnana); and this illusion vanishes—because of its opposition to the right knowledge—when a man attains to a knowledge of the distinction between Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña as defined in the sastra, when he is able to separate Kṣetrajña from Kṣetra like the ishika reed from the munja-grass and to realise that Brahman, the Knowable, which is devoid of all upadhis as described in the words “It is not said to be existent or non-existent” (xiii. 12) is his own Self, when he is convinced that, like the elephants and palaces projected by a juggler’s art, or like a thing seen in a dream, or like a gandharva-nagara (an imaginary city in the sky). Kṣetra is non-existent and only appears to be existent. As the cause of birth has vanished in the case of such a man, it stands to reason that the wise man is not born again (xiii. 23).

The one Self in all.

It has been said (xiii. 23) that the effect of right knowledge is the cessation of births through the removal of avidya (nescience) and the like* which form the seed of samsara. It has also been said that the cause of birth is the union of Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña caused by avidya. Therefore, the right knowledge which alone can remove avidya, though already described, will again be described in other words as follows :

i. e., effects (samskara) of avidya—A.