# क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/kshetrajna

क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) is a Sanskrit word meaning knowing localities, familiar with the cultivation of the soil, clever, dexterous, skilful, cunning, the soul, a form of Bhairava or Shiva. Its 19 recorded definitions are grouped into 5 contexts, among them The Individual Soul / Conscious Principle, Specific Proper Names or Roles, The Supreme Soul / Divine or Philosophical Principle.

- **Etymology:** E. क्षेत्र a field, the body, &c, and ज्ञ who knows — E. kṣetra a field, the body, &c, and jña who knows
- **SLP1:** `kzetrajYa`  **IAST:** kṣetrajña  **Devanagari:** क्षेत्रज्ञ
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/kshetrajna/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### The Individual Soul / Conscious Principle (6 definitions)
- the soul  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > क्षेत्र (kṣetra) — ज्ञ (—jña) ( अस् (as) ), m. ‘knowing the body’ i.e. the soul, the conscious principle in the corporeal frame, ŚvetUp.; Manu-smṛti (Title) viii, 96; xii, 12 and 14; Yājñ.; MBh.; Harivaṃśa (Title) 11297, &c. [ ID=60278 ]
- 1. Clever or skillful. 2. A husbandman. 3. The soul. 4. A libertine.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्र (kṣetra) ज्ञ (jña) (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 267 ] क्षेत्र (kṣetra) ज्ञ (jña) (kṣetrajña) mfn. ( - ज्ञ (jña) ः (-jñaḥ)- ज्ञ (jña) ा - ज्ञ (jña) ं (-jñaḥ-jñā-jñaṃ) ) 1 Clever, dexterous, skilful. 2 A husbandman, &c. m. ( - ज्ञ (jña) ः (-jñaḥ) ) 1 The soul, the emanation of divinity residing in the body. 2 A libertine, a whore-monger. E. क्षेत्र (kṣetra) a field, the body, &c. and ज्ञ (jña) who knows. [ ID=12490 ]
- 1. The soul, a husbandman, or a libertine. 2. Clever.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 230-b ] क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) ( ज्ञः ) ((jñaḥ)) 1. m. The soul; a husbandman; a libertine. a. Clever. [ ID=11943 ]
- 1. Clever or skillful. 2. A husbandman. 3. The soul. 4. A libertine.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्र (kṣetra) ज्ञ (jña) (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 219-b ] क्षेत्र (kṣetra) ज्ञ (jña) (kṣetrajña) mfn. ( - ज्ञ (jña) ः (-jñaḥ)- ज्ञ (jña) ा - ज्ञ (jña) ं (-jñaḥ-jñā-jñaṃ) ) 1. Clever, dexterous, skilful. 2. A husbandman, &c. m. ( - ज्ञ (jña) ः (-jñaḥ) ) 1. The soul, the emanation of divinity residing in the body. 2. A libertine, a whore-monger. E. क्षेत्र (kṣetra) a field, the body, &c, and ज्ञ (jña) who knows. [ ID=12484 ]
- 1. Conversant with. 2. The soul.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 0240-b ] क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) kṣetra-jña ( vb. jñā ), I. adj. f. jñā, Conversant with (with gen. ), MBh. 1, 3653. II. m. The soul, Man. 8, 96. [ ID=4103 ]
- 1. Knowing fields or places. 2. The soul.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 142 ] क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) a. knowing (fields or places); m. the soul. [ ID=8929 ]

### Specific Proper Names or Roles (4 definitions)
- a form of Bhairava or Shiva  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a form of Bhairava (or Śiva) [ ID=60279 ]
- a prince  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a prince, Bhāgavata-purāṇa (Title) xii, 1, 4 ( vv.ll. क्षत्रौ (kṣatrau) जस् (jas) and क्षेमा (kṣemā) र्चिस् (rcis) ) [ ID=60280 ]
- a girl fifteen years old who personates the goddess Durga at a festival  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3B) [Printed book page 332,2] क्षेत्र (kṣetra) — ज्ञा (—jñā) ( आ (ā) ), f. a girl fifteen years old who personates the goddess Durgā at a festival of this deity. [ ID=60281 ]
- the son of Kshemadharman and father of Vidhisara  
  *The Purana Index*
  > क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 1-491 ] Kṣetrajña (I) — the son of Kṣemadharman and father of Vidhisāra. Bhā. XII. 1. 5. [ ID=3877 ]

### The Supreme Soul / Divine or Philosophical Principle (4 definitions)
- 1. The soul. 2. The supreme soul. 3. A libertine. 4. A husbandman.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्र - ज्ञ (kṣetra-jña) (II) m. 1. the soul; 2. the supreme soul, Bg. xii.2; 3. a libertine; 4. a husbandman. [ ID=11037 ]
- the supreme soul in the form of the individual soul, often identified with Krishna or Vishnu  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 430-1 ] *Kṣetrajña, the supreme soul in the form of the individual soul, often identified with Kṛṣṇa (Viṣṇu): I, 3018, †3612, †3653, †3664, †3669; III, 476 (= Kṛṣṇa), 8353 (= Kṛṣṇa), 13979; V, 1070; VI. 1322, 1323, 1324 (= Kṛṣṇa), 1347; Page430-b+ 63 XII, 1641 ( kṣetre k°m āsīnaṃ, i.e. Kṛṣṇa), 6923, 8821, 11619, 11649, 12680 (= Puruṣa), 12691, 12864 (= Mahā- puruṣa), 12892, 12904 ( Vāsudevaḥ ), 13081, 13388 ( Vāsu- devaṃ ), 13604 ( Hariḥ ), 13745 (= Puruṣa); XIII, 6951 (= Viṣṇu, 1000 names); XIV, 933 (= Kṛṣṇa), 1205 (= Puruṣa). [ ID=6012 ]
- 1. Purusha. 2. The four powers of knowledge, detachment, divine power, and righteousness. 3. The lord of Prakritis. 4. Called Mati through knowledge of the field.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 1-492 ] Kṣetrajña (II) — is Puruṣa; 1 four powers of jñānam, Vai- rāgyam, aiśvaryam and Dharma; ety. 2 Lord of Prakṛtis; 3 called Mati by his knowledge of kṣetrā. 4 [ Footnote: 1) Br. II. 32. 85; IV. 3. 86-90, 102 and 108; 4. 19.] [ Footnote: 2) M. 145. 72-8.] [ Footnote: 3) Vā. 101. 223, 228; 102. 33, 108-9; 103. 27.] [ Footnote: 4) Vā. 59. 70; Br. I. 3. 37.] [ ID=3878 ]
- 1. Involuntary for his action and standing in its own natural place. 2. The twenty-four qualities from Mahat to vishesha.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Kṣetrajña (III) — involuntary for his action and stands in its own natural place; when kṣetra and kṣetrajña have equal guṇas and no vaiṣamya takes place; vaiṣamya or excess or otherwise of these guṇas when they take to the quality of Bhojya bhoktṛtva; the 24 guṇas from Mahat to viśeṣa. Vā. 103. 15-19. [ ID=3879 ]

### Knower of Places / Husbandman (3 definitions)
- knowing localities  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 332,2] क्षेत्र (kṣetra) — ज्ञ (—jña) mfn. knowing localities, Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa (Title) iii; AitBr.; TāṇḍyaBr.; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title) xiii; ChUp. [ ID=60274 ]
- familiar with the cultivation of the soil  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > familiar with the cultivation of the soil (as a husbandman), L. [ ID=60275 ]
- 1. Knowing localities. 2. Clever or dexterous.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > क्षेत्रज्ञ (kṣetrajña) [Printed book page 222-19 ] क्षेत्र - ज्ञ (kṣetra-jña) (I) a. 1. knowing localities; 2. clever, dexterous. [ ID=11036 ]

### Clever / Skilful / Generally Knowledgeable (2 definitions)
- clever, dexterous, skilful  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > clever, dexterous, skilful (with gen. ), Mahābhārata (Title) i, 3653 [ ID=60276 ]
- cunning  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > cunning, L. [ ID=60277 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Purana Index; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546