Shloka 93
क्षेत्रज्ञः करणी ज्ञानं करणं तेन तस्य तत् निष्पाद्य मुक्तिकार्यं वै कृतकृत्यं निवर्तते
kṣetrajñaḥ karaṇī jñānaṃ karaṇaṃ tena tasya tat niṣpādya muktikāryaṃ vai kṛtakṛtyaṃ nivartate
The Kṣetrajña—the inner Knower—makes knowledge itself his sacred work, and knowledge becomes his instrument. By that instrument he accomplishes the work of liberation; having fulfilled the purpose, he withdraws as one whose task is complete.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Concept: The kṣetrajña (inner knower) takes knowledge as his sacred undertaking and uses it as an instrument to complete the sole task—liberation—after which he abides in cessation.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Treat self-inquiry and discernment as daily sādhanā; use study, reflection, and meditation as instruments, then rest in non-reactive witnessing once clarity is established.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms an inner knower (self) whose fulfillment is mokṣa; in Viśiṣṭādvaita this knower is a real self whose knowledge culminates in God-realization and loving dependence, not self-annihilation.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Antaryamin: Yes
FAQs
Here Kṣetrajña is the conscious knower within, who uses true knowledge as the means to accomplish liberation and then withdraws from binding action.
Parāśara presents jñāna both as the ‘work to be done’ and as the ‘instrument’—by cultivating discernment, the seeker completes the liberative task (muktikārya) and becomes kṛtakṛtya, fulfilled.
Though Vishnu is not named in this verse, the teaching aligns with the Purana’s Vedantic frame: liberation is attained through right knowledge that culminates in freedom from saṃsāra under the sovereignty of the Supreme Reality upheld throughout the text.