Sanskrit
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च । अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥
śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ ca rasanaṃ ghrāṇam eva ca adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṃ viṣayān upasevate
Translation
Enshrined in the ear, the eye, the touch, the taste and the smell, and in the mind also, He enjoyeth the objects of the senses.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The frame narrows further, from the general fact of carrying senses across bodies to the moment-by-moment mechanics within a single body: the self takes its post in ear, eye, skin, tongue, and nose, with mind as a sixth, and from that seat enjoys sense-objects. This verse is descriptive rather than prescriptive — the text is not yet telling the reader what to do with this fact, that comes in verses 10-11’s contrast between the deluded and the wisdom-eyed — it is simply establishing the architecture of ordinary embodied experience so the next verse can ask who actually perceives it clearly. Seated in a new body, the self “presides over” the five senses and the mind and, through them, upasevate viṣayān — takes up service of the sense-objects again. The cycle of BG 15.2’s downward roots resumes.
Study deeper
Word by word
- śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ caश्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च
- the ear, the eye, and touch (śrotram + cakṣuḥ + sparśanam + ca)
- rasanaṃ ghrāṇam eva caरसनं घ्राणं एव च
- taste, and smell (rasanam + ghrāṇam + eva + ca)
- adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṃअधिष्ठाय मनश् चायं
- presiding over the mind — this one (adhiṣṭhāya + manaḥ + ca + ayam)
- viṣayān upasevateविषयान् उपसेवते
- attends upon the sense-objects (viṣayān + upasevate)
Commentary
Site Commentary
This verse is content to only describe — it maps the architecture of ordinary perception, ear to eye to mind, without yet telling the reader what to make of it. The evaluative move, the split between the deluded and the wisdom-eyed, waits for verse 10. There’s a discipline in that patience: establishing accurately how something works before rushing to judge it as good or bad is treated here as its own necessary step, not a delay before the real point.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Before deciding whether a habit or reaction of yours is good or bad, spend one honest pass just describing how it actually works — what triggers it, what it does for you. The verdict lands better once the mechanism is accurately mapped first.
Professional
- Before recommending a fix for a recurring incident, spend a deliberate pass just describing how the system currently behaves, without judgment. Resist prescribing a remedy until the mechanism itself is mapped — the diagnosis deserves its own moment before the verdict.
Family & Social
- Before judging why a family member reacts a certain way, take a moment to just describe the pattern you're observing, without labeling it good or bad yet. Understanding the mechanism first usually changes what judgment, if any, still seems necessary.
Ask yourself
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