Verse 13.18

Verse 13.18: “Thus, the Field of Knowledge, and the object to be known have been succinctly stated. My devotee, knowing this, attains oneness of essence with Me. (940)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

Thus, I first made clear to you, by pointing out its differentia Oh you wise one, what is (called) Kshetra (field);. So also after Kshetra, I preached to you (the attributes of) knowledge, Oh Kiriti, in the way you can see it clearly. Then I narrated to you in detail all the symptoms of nescience, until you got contented and said, “Enough of it,” and lastly I preached you elaborately, giving cogent reasoning (to establish its theory), what is called the object of knowledge. When this preaching, Oh Arjuna, is indelibly impressed on the intellect, an anxious yearning for attaining unto Me is engendered in my devotees.

Those that have renounced their bodies and other paraphernalia, and have devoted their lives to my service—those devotees of mine, Oh Kiriti, know the essence of my Supreme Self, and at the end of their life forget their individuality and come and merge into Me. Oh! bear this chiefly in mind that to come and to get merged into me is the easy way prepared by me, in the way there should be prepared a series of steps to (ascend) a precipice, or a scaffolding is constructed for supporting men high up in the void or a small boat is floated for navigating deep waters. Otherwise, simply preaching to you, Oh Great warrior, that everything is Atman would not have brought the truth home to you. We described to you one and the same Supreme in four different aspects to enable your intellect to grasp the totality (with ease).

Just as one (big) morsel is split up into twenty small ones when feeding a small child, in that way, the (theme of) Brahman, although a single one, was preached to you in four different aspects—(i) the field, (ii) knowledge (iii) the object of knowledge and (iv) nescience—in these four divisions, realizing your mental capacity. If, in spite of all this, Oh Partha, your mind has not still grasped the preaching, I shall once again tell you about this arrangement. Now instead of making it into four parts, or treating the subject as a single one, I would consider, in a common measure, both the soul and the gross or material (part) of the compound person. You must only comply with one thing I demand of you, viz. you should name (treat) your ear as your ‘self.

Hearing Lord Krishna talking in this way, there came over Partha’s body tremor and horripilation, and seeing this, God said, (to himself) “well, he appears to be highly excited;” seeing (Arjuna) in that (overwrought) state (Lord Krishna himself was profoundly overwhelmed but restraining himself), Shrirang [Shriranga] said, “I would now preach you, separating ‘Purusha’ from ‘Prakriti’ and hear it; that path which the ascetics describe as Sankhya in this world, and for preaching the importance of which, I became, (incarnated myself as) the sage Kapila—that flawless discourse on Purusha and Prakriti, do now hear” said the Primeval Person (ādipurūṣa [ādipuruṣa?]—Lord of creation) to Arjuna.