Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field
Verse 13.24
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैःसह।सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते।।13.24।।
ya evaṁ vetti puruṣhaṁ prakṛitiṁ cha guṇaiḥ saha sarvathā vartamāno ’pi na sa bhūyo ’bhijāyate
Word Meanings
yaḥ—who; evam—thus; vetti—understand; puruṣham—Puruṣh; prakṛitim—the material nature; cha—and; guṇaiḥ—the three modes of nature; saha—with; sarvathā—in every way; vartamānaḥ—situated; api—although; na—not; saḥ—they; bhūyaḥ—again; abhijāyate—take birth
Translation · English
He who thus knows the Spirit and Matter together with their qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.
Deep Meaning · English
This verse marks the culmination of the philosophical inquiry into the distinction between the 'Field' (Prakriti) and the 'Knower of the Field' (Purusha). Krishna teaches that liberation is not necessarily a geographic or external movement, but a cognitive and ontological shift. When one realizes that they are the pure witnessing Consciousness (Purusha) and not the complex interplay of the three modes of material nature (Gunas), the cycle of karma and rebirth effectively snaps. The term 'sarvatha vartamanopi' is crucial; it implies that once this gnosis is achieved, the individual remains in the world, fulfilling their duties, yet they are no longer bound by the results of those actions because the ego-identification with the 'doer' has dissolved into the awareness of the 'witness'.
True liberation is the realization that one is the eternal, unchanging witness, rendering the oscillations of material nature powerless to bind the soul to the cycle of reincarnation.
Connected Verses
The ultimate surrender which brings the fruition of this knowledge, promising liberation from all sins and cycles of birth.
Highlights the state of being beyond the three Gunas, which is the practical attainment of the realization described in 13.24.
Confirms that one who understands the divine nature of His birth and activity does not take birth again upon leaving the body.
Explains how the sage who has cast off all desires becomes established in the Self, paralleling the freedom of the knower.
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