Complete learning edition. The Sanskrit source remains separate from attributed word meanings, translation, explanation and commentary witnesses. Diagrams and memory aids are study tools, not replacements for the source text.
अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम्।एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोन्यथा।।13.12।।
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśhanam etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato ’nyathā
Constant application to spiritual knowledge, understanding of the end of true knowledge: this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.
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 |
|---|---|
| adhyātma | spiritual |
| jñāna | knowledge |
| nityatvam | constancy |
| tattva-jñāna | knowledge of spiritual principles |
| artha | for |
| darśhanam | philosophy |
| etat | all this |
| jñānam | knowledge |
| iti | thus |
| proktam | declared |
| ajñānam | ignorance |
| yat | what |
| ataḥ | to this |
| anyathā | contrary |
Read the Sanskrit as a connected thought built from adhyātma (spiritual), jñānam (knowledge), and anyathā (contrary). 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 13.12.
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
Constant application to spiritual knowledge, understanding of the end of true knowledge
- 2
this is declared to be knowledge
- 3
what is opposed to it is ignorance
Look, link, cover, teach
Look
Picture field and knower.
Link
Use the line starts: adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśhanam / etaj jñānam.
Cover
Hide the verse and rebuild one line at a time.
Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
Circle repeated sounds, names, or grammatical endings before consulting a meaning.
Read one line aloud, cover it, and reconstruct as much as you can from memory.
Compare with a checked edition and record the source before adding any translation.
Build meaning without hiding the work
Distinguish field, individual knower, Supreme knower, knowledge and knowable while noting this edition’s 35-verse numbering.
Mark forms you want to investigate
These are visual tokens, not a reviewed sandhi split. Select repeated forms, endings, compounds, particles or speaker markers; verify segmentation with the Sanskrit tools or a checked edition.
Three questions for this verse
- 1
Which category is active?
- 2
What property or relation is stated?
- 3
What nearby category must not be collapsed into it?
Add the verse to a five-column field–knower–knowledge–knowable–Supreme map.
Attempt before comparison
Make revision visible
Assessment: read aloud, explain the verse’s role in its chapter, identify one source boundary, answer one question and schedule a return.
Turn this reading into a study record
Save it, return from memory, and write one idea in your own words. Your record stays in this browser unless you export it.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 13.12, 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 13.12 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 13.12 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 13.12 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 13.12, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
Use an authorized edition