Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 13, Verse 18
इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः।मद्भक्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भावायोपपद्यते।।
iti kṣetraṁ tathā jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ coktaṁ samāsataḥ
mad-bhakta etad vijñāya mad-bhāvāyopapadyate
also searched as "iti kshetram tatha jnanam jneyam choktam samasatah"
Translation
Thus, the Ksetra, knowledge, and the object of knowledge have been briefly set forth. On knowing this, My devotee becomes fit to attain My state.
Vāṇi's rendering
So there it is, in brief — the field, knowledge, the known. Who loves me and understands this enters my being.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| इतिiti | so, thus — that much |
| क्षेत्रम्kṣetram | the field — the body and all that can be observed in it |
| तथाtathā | and likewise |
| ज्ञानम्jñānam | knowledge, the act of knowing |
| ज्ञेयम्jñeyam | the known — that which knowledge is for |
| चca | and (joined in sandhi with the next word as coktam) |
| उक्तम्uktam | has been told, spoken |
| समासतःsamāsataḥ | in brief, compressed |
| मद्भक्तःmad-bhakta | one who loves me, my devotee (final ḥ elided before etad) |
| एतत्etad | this (all that has been said) |
| विज्ञायvijñāya | having understood it through and through |
| मद्भावायmad-bhāvāya | to my being, my state (joined in sandhi with the next word) |
| उपपद्यतेupapadyate | comes to, enters, arrives at |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Verse 18 mean?
Krishna closes his account of the field, of knowledge, and of what knowledge is for, and calls it brief. Then he adds the condition that changes everything: the one who loves him and understands this enters his being. Analysis alone does not carry you across. Understanding held inside affection does.
What does iti kshetram tatha jnanam mean in the Gita?
It means: so there it is — the field, and likewise knowledge, and the known. Krishna is summarising, marking the end of a teaching rather than beginning one. The word samāsataḥ, briefly, is his way of saying that even this much is only an outline of something you must see for yourself.
Why does Krishna say only his devotee attains his state?
Because knowing the field and its knower can be done coldly, as an exercise in sorting. Krishna is not describing a subject to be mastered; he is describing himself. Love is what makes the seeing personal. Without it, you have a correct diagram of someone you never met.
How do bhakti and jnana work together in this verse?
They are not two paths here but one act. Vijñāya is the clear seeing; mad-bhakta is the loving. Krishna joins them in a single sentence and makes the arrival depend on both. Understand what you love, love what you understand — and there is nowhere further to travel.
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Commentary
Krishna has been laying out a map — field, knowing, the known — and here he folds it up. Samāsataḥ: briefly. Everything said was compressed, and he says so plainly, as if the whole analysis were a small thing beside what comes next. Then the turn. Not the one who masters this, but the one who loves and understands. Arjuna is not asked to become a philosopher. He is asked to keep the affection while the seeing clarifies. Study without love stays a diagram; love without seeing stays a hope. Hold both, and this is not a place you reach — it is what you were standing in all along.