Shloka 38
Brahmopadeśa: Adhipatitva-kathana, Dharma-lakṣaṇa, and Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña Viveka
Book 14, Chapter 43
पुरुषस्तद् विजानीते तस्मात् क्षेत्रज्ञ उच्यते । गुणवृत्तं तथा वृत्तं क्षेत्रज्ञ: परिपश्यति
puruṣas tad vijānīte tasmāt kṣetrajña ucyate | guṇa-vṛttaṃ tathā vṛttaṃ kṣetrajñaḥ paripaśyati |
Vāyu dit : « La Personne intérieure (puruṣa) connaît ce champ d’expérience ; c’est pourquoi on l’appelle le Connaisseur du Champ (kṣetrajña). Le Connaisseur du Champ voit clairement les mouvements des guṇa et leurs activités. Mais les guṇa—bien qu’ils surgissent sans cesse dans le domaine du changement—ne connaissent pas véritablement le Soi. »
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.