Emotions are field-modifications, not your deepest identity.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं संघातश्चेतना धृतिः |एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ||१३-७||
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṃghātaścetanā dhṛtiḥ . etatkṣetraṃ samāsena savikāramudāhṛtam ||13-7||
Use this verse for emotion labeling.
Meaning
Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body-mind aggregate, consciousness, and firmness—this is the field with its modifications, briefly described.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, and mental firmness are also part of the field.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna includes emotional patterns in the field. What we like, dislike, enjoy, suffer, and endure are observable changes. This is a practical emotional-awareness verse.
Read the traditional commentary
Completing the inventory, Krishna names the inner movements that animate the field: desire and aversion (iccha and dvesha), pleasure and pain (sukha and duhkha), the bodily aggregate, the spark of sentience, and the fortitude (dhriti) that holds the organism together. These are the vikaras, the modifications by which the field constantly changes shape.
It is profound that desire, hatred, pleasure, and pain are placed within the field rather than within the self. Our most intimate emotions are presented as weather passing through nature, observed by the unchanging knower. This reframing is deeply freeing: when joy and sorrow are seen as modifications of the field, we need not be swept away by them.
We can feel them fully while resting as the steady witness who remains untouched. Krishna thus turns a dry list into a practical map for emotional steadiness.
In daily life
Notice desire and aversion before they control action.
A person can observe: craving is present, aversion is present, but I can choose wisely.
Try this today
Label one desire or aversion without acting immediately.
I observe emotions without becoming them.Reflect
Which emotion is modifying my field right now?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘सविकारम् उदाहृतम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on witness, in other chapters
- Verse 14.10Your states of mind are passing weather, not permanent identity — so neither cling to the bright ones nor despair in the dark.
- Verse 7.27Most of our suffering is being dragged by likes and dislikes — meet the pairs of opposites with equanimity to step out of the trance.
- Verse 3.28When you see life as nature engaging with itself, you can participate fully yet remain inwardly free and unattached.
- Verse 5.8Rest in the witnessing Self: let life's activities flow while inwardly knowing 'I am not the doer.'
Swipe left for 13.8 · True knowledge transforms character.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 13.7
Who says Bhagavad Gita 13.7, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 13.7, in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.7 mean?
Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body-mind aggregate, consciousness, and firmness—this is the field with its modifications, briefly described. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 13.7 for daily life?
Notice desire and aversion before they control action. A person can observe: craving is present, aversion is present, but I can choose wisely.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 13.7 mean?
इच्छा — desire; द्वेषः — aversion, hatred; सुखम् दुःखम् — pleasure and pain; संघातः — the aggregate (the body); चेतना — sentience, consciousness reflected.
Where does verse 13.7 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 7 of 35 in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 13.8.