Sanskrit
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनु विधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥
indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan mano'nu vidhīyate tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi
Translation
Such of the roving senses as the mind yieldeth to, that hurries away the understanding, just as the gale hurries away a ship upon the waters.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A vivid restatement of verse 60’s warning: it takes only one roving sense the mind gives in to, and understanding is swept off course entirely, the way a single gale can take a ship. The image is precise about scale — not many failures, just one unguarded yielding — which is exactly why verse 68 concludes with “all,” not “most.” The boat is under control until one crosswind; the mind is steady until it “follows after” one wandering sense. The simile sets up the “therefore” of verse 68: partial sense-restraint is no restraint, because a single gap is enough.
Study deeper
Word by word
- indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃइन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां
- for, of the wandering senses (indriyāṇām + hi + caratām)
- yan mano'nu vidhīyateयन् मनोऽनु विधीयते
- the mind that follows after [one] (yat + manaḥ + anu + vidhīyate)
- tad asya harati prajñāṃतद् अस्य हरति प्रज्ञां
- that carries away his wisdom (tat + asya + harati + prajñām)
- vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasiवायुः नावं इवांभसि
- as wind [carries off] a boat on the water (vāyuḥ + nāvam + iva + ambhasi)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The gale-and-ship image is precise about proportion: a small, localized force — one sense yielding — produces a total redirection of the whole understanding. The verse isn’t warning about accumulated failures; it’s warning that scale doesn’t have to match cause, which is exactly why verse 68 concludes with “all,” not “most.”
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- A single unguarded moment — one scroll, one impulsive reply, one drink — can undo disproportionate effort built up elsewhere; guard the entry points specifically, not just your aggregate willpower.
Professional
- One unmonitored access point or overlooked dependency can compromise an otherwise well-built system — the exposure isn't proportional to how small the gap is, so treat every entry point as load-bearing, not just the obvious ones.
Family & Social
- One unaddressed resentment can derail an otherwise strong relationship out of proportion to how small it seemed at first — name the small thing early rather than trusting overall strength to absorb it.
Ask yourself
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