In plain words
Hear from Me briefly what that kṣetra is, what it is like, how it changes, what arises from what, and also who the kṣetrajña is and what its powers are.
Word for word
What that kṣetra [is], and of what kind, and with what modifications, and from what what [arises]; and who he [is] and with what powers: that hear from Me briefly.
तत् क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक् च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत्स च यो यत्प्रभावश्च तत् समासेन मे शृणु
Other commentaries
The commentators
▸Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
‘इदं शरीरम्’ इत्यादिश्लोकोपदिष्टस्य क्षेत्राध्यायार्थस्य सङ्ग्रहश्लोकः अयम् उपन्यस्यते ‘तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च’ इत्यादि, व्याचिख्यासितस्य हि अर्थस्य सङ्ग्रहोपन्यासः न्याय्यः इति —
यत् निर्दिष्टम् ‘इदं शरीरम्’ इति तत् तच्छब्देन परामृशति । यच्च इदं निर्दिष्टं क्षेत्रं तत् यादृक् यादृशं स्वकीयैः धर्मैः । च - शब्दः समुच्चयार्थः । यद्विकारि यः विकारः यस्य तत् यद्विकारि, यतः यस्मात् च यत् , कार्यम् उत्पद्यते इति वाक्यशेषः । स च यः क्षेत्रज्ञः निर्दिष्टः सः यत्प्रभावः ये प्रभावाः उपाधिकृताः शक्तयः यस्य सः यत्प्रभावश्च । तत् क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोः याथात्म्यं यथाविशेषितं समासेन सङ्क्षेपेण मे मम वाक्यतः शृणु, श्रुत्वा अवधारय इत्यर्थः ॥ ३ ॥
In plain words
The verse beginning 'This body...' already opened up the whole topic of the field. Now Śaṅkara sets before us the verse that gathers it all together in a single breath — 'That field, and which...' It only makes sense, after all, to hand over a summary before unpacking a subject in full. So here it comes.
'Yat' — 'what' — simply points back to what has already been named: 'this body.' Krishna marks it again with one small word, 'that.' And 'and which' means this: this same field — what is it actually like, by its own nature, in its own right? The 'and' here is doing nothing fancy, just stringing the questions together. 'Whatever it changes into' means precisely that — whatever transformation belongs to the field belongs to it, nothing more mysterious. 'And from what' means 'from what cause' — and then 'what effect arises' — Krishna leaves that half unsaid, trusting you to fill it in. And the knower of that field, already named — 'whose powers are what they are' means the capacities that come from the conditions surrounding him, not from what he actually is. And 'that' — the real nature of both field and knower, exactly as it has just been drawn out — 'in brief,' 'from me,' Krishna says — 'listen.' And once you've heard it, don't just let it pass through you — hold it, settle into it. That's what is meant.
Close to the Sanskrit
Of the meaning of the field-chapter taught by the verse beginning 'idaṃ śarīram' [this body...], this is the summary-verse now being set forth — 'tat kṣetraṃ yac ca' [that field, and which...] and so on; for indeed, a summary statement of a topic about to be expounded in detail is proper — thus [it is introduced] —
'Yat' [means] what was pointed out [by] 'idaṃ śarīram' [this body] — that he refers to by the word 'tat'. And 'yac ca' — this indicated field — 'tat' [that field] is 'yādṛk', [that is] 'yādṛśam' [of what kind], by its own properties. The word 'ca' has the sense of addition. 'Yadvikāri' — that whose modification is whatever it is, that is 'yadvikāri'; 'yataḥ' [means] 'yasmāt' [from which cause], and 'yat' [what effect arises] — 'an effect arises' — this is the remainder of the sentence [to be mentally supplied]. And 'sa' — who was pointed out as the field-knower — he is 'yatprabhāvaḥ', whose powers, the capacities produced by limiting adjuncts, are whatever they are — he is 'yatprabhāvaśca'. 'Tat' — the true nature of the field and the field-knower, exactly as specifically qualified — 'samāsena' [means] 'saṅkṣepeṇa' [in brief] — 'me' [means] 'mama' [mine], from my word — 'listen', and having heard, 'ascertain [it] firmly' — such is the meaning.