Verse 13.4

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 13.4:

तत् क्षेत्रं यच् च यादृक् च यद्-विकारि यतश् च यत् ।
स च यो यत्-प्रभावश् च तत् समासेन मे शृणु ॥ ४ ॥

tat kṣetraṃ yac ca yādṛk ca yad-vikāri yataś ca yat |
sa ca yo yat-prabhāvaś ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu || 4 ||

tat–this; kṣetram–field; yat–what; ca–and; yādṛk–what is its nature; ca–and; yat-vikāri–what are its transformations; yataḥ–whence; ca–and; yat–for what reason (it exists); saḥ–that (knower of the field); ca–and; yaḥ–which (nature); yat-prabhāvaḥ–what is its influence; ca–and; tat–that;samāsena–in brief; me–from Me; śṛṇu–hear.

Hear from Me a brief description of that field, its characteristics and transformations, why and from whom it has come into existence, and the svarūpa (nature) and influence of the knower of that field.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

In this verse beginning with tat kṣetram, Śrī Bhagavān is beginning to elaborate on what He previously spoke about only in brief.

What is that kṣetra, or body? It is a combination of the five material elements, the life-air (prāṇa) and the senses. “Hear from Me how this body possesses different types of natures, desires and transformations, such as religiosity, enmity and friendship. Hear how it is born from the union of material nature (prakṛti) and the enjoyer (puruṣa), and how it manifests differently in the varieties of moving and non-moving forms. The knowers of the body are the jīvātmā and also the Paramātmā.” According to the rules of Sanskrit grammar, kṣetra-jña is in the neutral gender here, because the word kṣetra is used in the neutral gender.