Bhagavad-gītā 13.20
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि।विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसंभवान्।।13.20।।
prakṛitiṁ puruṣhaṁ chaiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api vikārānśh cha guṇānśh chaiva viddhi prakṛiti-sambhavān
Know thou that Prakriti and Purusha are both beginningless; and know thou also that all modifications and Gunas are born of Prakriti.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| prakṛitim | material nature |
| puruṣham | the individual souls |
| cha | and |
| eva | indeed |
| viddhi | know |
| anādī | beginningless |
| ubhau | both |
| api | and |
| vikārān | transformations (of the body) |
| cha | also |
| guṇān | the three modes of nature |
| cha | and |
| eva | indeed |
| viddhi | know |
| prakṛiti | material energy |
| sambhavān | produced by |
Read the Sanskrit as a connected thought built from prakṛitim (material nature), vikārān (transformations (of the body)), and sambhavān (produced by). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to the field, its knower and the supreme knower. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 13.20.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Distinguish field, individual knower, Supreme knower, knowledge and knowable while noting this edition’s 35-verse numbering.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Know thou that Prakriti and Purusha are both beginningless
- 2
and know thou also that all modifications and Gunas are born of Prakriti
- 3
prakṛitim: material nature
Look, link, cover, teach
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Picture field and knower.
Link
Use the line starts: prakṛitiṁ puruṣhaṁ / vikārānśh cha.
Cover
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Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 13.20, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 13.20 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 13.20 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 13.20 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 13.20, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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