The Core Concept of Purusa in the Bhagavad Gita

Dr. Monoranjan Das

Abstract: The Purusa which resides in the body-mind complex is non-material and is the reflection of Purusa in the individual. Transcendental Purusa is one and on account of its reflections in different psycho-physical habitats (ksetra) appears to be many just as the moon in the sky reflected in different pots appears to be different. The Purusa which is beyond the gunas of prakrti (gunatita) appears to be bound up with gunas because of its intimate association with the body-mind complex. In Bhagavad Gita, the body-mind complex is termed as ksetra (field) constituted by the gunas of prakrti. The Purusa residing in the material structure is termed as ksetrajna (knower of the field). The Purusa continues to live in the body-mind coordinate (ksetra) till the karmic potency is exhausted. After the dissolution of the body the Purusa doesn?t enter into the cycle of birth and death.

Keywords: Bhagavadgita, Gunas, Jnana Metaphysics, Purusa