Shloka 38
पुरुषस्तद् विजानीते तस्मात् क्षेत्रज्ञ उच्यते । गुणवृत्तं तथा वृत्तं क्षेत्रज्ञ: परिपश्यति,आत्मा क्षेत्रको जानता है, इसलिये वह क्षेत्रज्ञ कहलाता है। क्षेत्रज्ष आदि, मध्य और अन्तसे युक्त समस्त उत्पत्तिशील अचेतन गुणोंके कार्यको और उनकी क्रियाको भी भलीभाँति जानता है, किंतु बारंबार उत्पन्न होनेवाले गुण आत्माको नहीं जान पाते
puruṣas tad vijānīte tasmāt kṣetrajña ucyate | guṇa-vṛttaṃ tathā vṛttaṃ kṣetrajñaḥ paripaśyati |
Vāyu said: “The inner Person knows that (field of experience); therefore he is called the Knower of the Field. The Knower of the Field clearly perceives the workings of the guṇas and their activities. Yet the guṇas—though repeatedly arising in the realm of change—do not truly know the Self.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Consciousness (the Puruṣa/Ātman) is the ‘Knower of the Field’ because it illumines and understands the changing operations of prakṛti (the guṇas). The guṇas can be observed and analyzed by the Self, but they cannot, by themselves, grasp the Self—highlighting the Self’s distinctness and transcendence over material nature.
Vāyu is instructing the listener in a philosophical discourse: he defines why the Self is termed kṣetrajña and contrasts the knowing principle (Ātman/Puruṣa) with the known, changing processes (guṇas and their activities), emphasizing discernment and inner detachment.