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Here is an SBQ (Scripture-Based Question) style reflection on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13: Verses 5–6, with explanation and insight:
📖 SBQ – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13: "The Field and the Knower of the Field"
Verses 13.5–13.6
🔹 Question:
“What constitutes the field (kṣetra), and how is it understood through scripture and sense perception?”
🔹 Answer (Bhagavad Gita 13.5–6):
13.5:
“Sages have sung of it in various ways, through distinctive Vedic hymns and in the profound aphorisms of the Brahma Sūtras—full of reason and certainty.”13.6:
“The field consists of the five great elements (earth, water, fire, air, space), ego, intellect, the unmanifest (Prakriti), the ten senses, the mind (as the eleventh), and the five sense-objects (sound, touch, form, taste, smell).”
🧠 Insight & Commentary:
📚 1. Verse 13.5 – Scriptural Foundations of Truth
Krishna explains that the nature of reality and the self is not just known by personal experience but is supported by ancient Rishis, Vedic chants, and Brahma Sūtra logic. This gives multiple dimensions to truth:
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Revelation (Śruti)
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Reason (Yukti)
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Experience (Anubhava)
✅ These are the three pramāṇas (means of knowledge) in Vedanta. Truth is not arbitrary—it's well-reasoned and revealed.
🌍 2. Verse 13.6 – The Structure of the Field (Kṣetra)
Krishna describes the body-mind system, or kṣetra, in 24 cosmic principles (tattvas):
| Components | Examples |
|---|---|
| 5 Mahābhūtas (Elements) | Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space |
| Ego (Ahaṅkāra) | Sense of "I"-ness |
| Intellect (Buddhi) | Discrimination, reasoning |
| Unmanifest (Avyakta) | Root Nature (Prakriti) |
| 10 Senses (Indriyas) | 5 of Knowledge (ears, eyes…) + 5 of Action (hands, mouth…) |
| Mind (Manas) | Coordinator of sense input |
| 5 Sense Objects (Gocharas) | Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, Smell |
✅ These components form the body-mind-world apparatus, but not the Self.
🧘 Spiritual Meaning (Vedantic View):
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The “Field” is all that can be perceived, acted upon, or conceptualized.
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The “Knower of the Field” (Kṣetrajña) is pure consciousness, or the Self (Ātman) that observes all of this.
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This sets up the central teaching: “You are not the body-mind, you are the witness.”
🌱 Conclusion (SBQ Summary):
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Question: What makes up the "field" of existence according to the Gita?
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Answer: The field includes the physical elements, mind, senses, and ego—but not the true Self.
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Spiritual Lesson: We must learn to discriminate between the changing "field" and the unchanging knower. This is the beginning of liberation.
Would you like a diagram of the 24 tattvas, a comparison with Samkhya philosophy, or a guided meditation on the “Knower of the Field”?
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