Shloka 3
सम्बन्ध--क्षेत्र और क्षेत्रज्ञका पूर्ण ज्ञान हो जानेपर संसारभ्रमका नाश हो जाता है और परमात्माकी प्राप्ति होती है, अतएव क्षेत्र” और क्षेत्रज्' के स्वरूप आदिको भलीभाॉति विभागपूर्वक समझानेके लिये भगवान् कहते हैं-- तत् क्षेत्र यच्चर“ं यादूक्ु" च यद्धिकारि* यतश्न यत्* । स*च यो यत्प्रभावश्चः तत् समासेन मे शूणु,वह क्षेत्र जो और जैसा है तथा जिन विकारोंवाला है और जिस कारणसे जो हुआ है तथा वह क्षेत्रज्ष भी जो और जिस प्रभाववाला है--वह सब संक्षेपमें मुझसे सुन
tad kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca yad-vikāri yataś ca yat | sa ca yo yat-prabhāvaś ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu ||
Arjuna said: “Tell me, in brief, what the ‘field’ (kṣetra) is—what it is and what it is like; what transformations it undergoes; from what cause it arises; and also who the ‘knower of the field’ (kṣetrajña) is and what power or influence belongs to that knower.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the inquiry that leads to liberating discernment: understand the ‘field’ (the changing body–mind and its conditions) and the ‘knower of the field’ (the conscious principle), including their nature, modifications, causes, and the knower’s power—knowledge that dispels delusion and supports right conduct.
In the midst of the Bhīṣma Parva’s war setting, Arjuna turns from immediate conflict to a clarifying philosophical question, requesting a concise explanation of the constituents of experience (kṣetra) and the conscious knower (kṣetrajña), preparing the ground for instruction on wisdom and liberation.