Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 1

अर्जुन उवाच | प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च | एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ||

arjuna uvāca prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñam eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava

Arjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to know about prakriti (material nature), purusha (the enjoyer), the field (kshetra), the knower of the field (kshetrajna), knowledge, and that which is to be known.

Arjuna asks Krishna to explain fundamental distinctions that most people never question. 'Prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ'—material nature and the soul. 'Kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñam'—the field (body) and the knower of the field (consciousness). 'Jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ'—knowledge itself and what knowledge reveals. These aren't abstract concepts—they're the building blocks of self-understanding. Most people live their entire lives confusing the body with the self, thinking they are their physical form. Arjuna's question opens Chapter 13's central teaching: you are not your body. You are the awareness that knows the body. This distinction is everything. Without it, you suffer. With it, you find freedom.