Divine Mother is Kshetrakshetrajna Palini. She is the Lord of both Kshetra (Deha) and Kshetragna (Dehi).
Kshetragna means soul. Kshetra means body. In Vishnu Smriti, Vishnumurthy says, “Oh Goddess Earth! This body itself is called Kshetra. He who knows about this is Kshetrajna. I am the master of all of these."
In Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 (Ksetraksetragna Vibhaga Yoga), Arjuna asks Lord Krishna like this:
Prakr̥tiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣētraṁ kṣētrajña mēva ca |
ēta dvēditu micchāmi jñānaṁ jēyaṁ ca kēśava ||
Keshava! I want to know about Prakriti, Purusha, Kshetra, Kshetrajna, Jnana, Jeyam. Then Lord Krishna said:
Idaṁ śarīraṁ kauntēya! Kṣētra mi tyabhidhīyatē |
ēta dyō vētti taṁ prāhaḥ kṣētrajña iti tadvidaḥ ||
"O!Counteya(Arjuna)! This body is the Kshetra. He who knows this body (i,e the soul) is the Ksetragana.
Kṣētrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ vid'dhi sarvakṣētrēṣu bhārata! |
Kṣētra kṣētrajñayōrjanaṁ yattad jñānaṁ mataṁ mamaḥ ||
Arjuna! The knowledge of the kshetra and the kshetragna is quintessential for everyone. In the past, sages explained their knowledge on this topic in many ways. Vedas, Upanishads and Brahmasutras explain this in detail.
Mahābhūtā syahaṅkārō bud'dhi ravyakta mēva ca |
indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pan̄cacēndriya gōcarāḥ ||
iccādvēṣa s'sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṅghātaścētanā dhr̥tiḥ |
ētat kṣētraṁ samāsēna savikāra mudāhr̥tam ||
Panchabhutas, Ahamkara, Buddhi, Mulaprakriti Dasendriyas, Mind, Senses. Happiness, sorrow, desire, hatred, intelligence, courage and the aggregate of these vikaras together is called Kshetra"
In Lingapurana
caturvinśatitattvāni kṣētraśabēna sūrayaḥ |
āhuḥ kṣētrajña śabēna bhōktāraṁ puruṣaṁ tathā ||
Scholars call the twenty-four tatwas a Kshetra. He who experiences them is said to be a Kshetrajna.
In the Vayu Purana
avyaktaṁ kṣētramuddiṣṭaṁ brahmākṣētrajña ucyatē
The unexpressed is Kshetra. Brahma is said to be Kshetragna.
In Brahmapurana, bodies are Kshetras, and one who knows them is Yogatma. Therefore, the soul is Kshetrajna i.e. The soul that is attached to the body is said to be Kshetragna.
In Manusmriti, one who performs actions with bodies or living beings is Kshetrajna. The doer is the Kshetragna. An antaratma (soul) called Jiva exists in all bodies. The joys and sorrows of the past lives are known because of this. This Kshetrajna pervades all living beings. Countless bodies are emerging from him. It is He who makes all beings active.
Hence, we say once again that Kshetra means the bodies of all living beings. Not just humans. The bodies of insects, animals and birds are also kshetras. The ruler of those kshetras is the Jivatma or Antaratma within them. That is Kshetragna. Paramatma is the Lord of both kshetra and kshetragna. In fact, Jivatma is not separate from Paramatma. But due to ignorance, it assumes it is different from it.
