Sanskrit
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥
yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṃ manaḥ
Translation
O son of Kuntî, the excited senses of even a wise man, though he be striving, impetuously carry away his mind.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A frank warning aimed directly at Arjuna: even a person of real understanding, actively trying, can have their mind forcibly dragged off by agitated senses. This isn’t a reason for despair so much as a justification for what comes next — the concrete discipline of verse 61, and the cautionary chain of verses 62–63 showing exactly how that dragging-off unfolds if left unchecked. The concession is deliberate: yatataḥ api, “even of one who is trying,” and vipaścitaḥ, “discerning.” Effort and insight are not sufficient by themselves, which is why the next verse adds an anchor — fixing the mind on something higher than the senses.
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Word by word
- yatato hy apiयततो ह्य् अपि
- for even of one who strives (yatataḥ + hi + api)
- kaunteyaकौन्तेय
- O son of Kuntī
- puruṣasya vipaścitaḥपुरुषस्य विपश्चितः
- of a discerning person (puruṣasya + vipaścitaḥ)
- indriyāṇi pramāthīniइन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि
- the turbulent senses (indriyāṇi + pramāthīni)
- harantiहरन्ति
- carry off
- prasabhaṃप्रसभं
- forcibly
- manaḥमनः
- the mind
Commentary
Site Commentary
After several verses building up the accomplished sage’s portrait, this one interrupts with a warning aimed straight at Arjuna: competence itself grants no immunity — even a wise, actively striving person can be dragged off course. The verse’s real work is puncturing any complacency the preceding description might have earned.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- Don't treat self-control as a state you've achieved once and can stop tending — this verse's whole point is that even genuine skill and active effort don't grant immunity from being swept off course in a given moment.
Professional
- Senior people still get blindsided by ego or urgency under real pressure — expertise doesn't confer immunity, so build guardrails and habits into the system rather than trusting confidence alone to hold under stress.
Family & Social
- Someone who generally handles conflict well can still get swept away in one specific charged moment — build in guardrails for those moments rather than assuming your usual steadiness will simply show up on its own.
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