Arjuna wished to continue his questions. So Krishna said, "My dear brother-in-law! You are eager to question again?" Seizing the chance, Arjuna put in his query. "Krishna! You have explained the Prakrithi-thathwa or nature principle. Now, I wish very much to know what is meant by Purusha, what are Its characteristics, what is Its nature."

"Arjuna!", Krishna said, "Whether you call it Purusha or Kshethrajna or Jneya, it is the same. Kshethrajna is the knower of the Kshethra or field. Jneya is that which is known. Purusha is the Jiva and Prakrithi is the Deha or the body. The embodied is the Purusha, the person who knows the body. The Deha or body has also a number of names, each having a significant meaning. It is Sarira, because it wastes away; Deha, because it is liable to be burnt. The Jiva is that which activates the body and becomes aware of its limitations."

Arjuna was pestered by doubt at this answer and so he started another series of questions. "Krishna, how did this wasting and destructible body come to be called Kshethra or field?" Arjuna was indeed a clever listener. Krishna answered him with a great deal of patience.

Krishna replied: "It is through this body that merit can be acquired by engaging in various beneficent activities; the body is the vehicle for earning Jnana or the universal vision; it is the body that leads you on to liberation itself. It is the repository of such great achievements and so it is called Kshethra. Kshethra means an armour, for it protects and guards the Jivi from harm. Another meaning is 'field', a meaning that is full of significance. Whatever seeds are sown or saplings planted in the field, the harvest depends on their nature and quality. The body is the field, the Jivi is the Kshethrapalaka, the protector of the field and the crop. Sowing the seeds of meritorious deeds, one reaps joy and happiness. Sowing the seeds of sin, one reaps the harvest of grief and worry. Sowing the seeds of Jnana, one garners the harvest of Moksha or liberation from the bondage of birth and death.

"Just as the ryot knows the nature and characteristics of the field, the Kshethrajna or the Jivi must know the nature and qualities of his body. The only difference between Kshethra and Kshethra-jna is the syllable 'jna'. It means Jnana, he who knows, the knower. So he who knows the field or the body, its excellences and deficiencies, he is the Kshethrajna. That which has no such knowledge, the inert material thing, that is the Kshethra.

"Krishna!", Arjuna asked, "of what benefit is it to know these two entities: Kshethra and Kshethrajna?" Krishna laughed. He said, "What a foolish question to ask? By inquiring and knowing about the nature of the Kshethrajna, one's grief is destroyed. Knowing about the nature of the Kshethrajna, Ananda or bliss is acquired. This Ananda is also designated as Moksha."