Bhagavad Gita 15.9
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 9 of 20
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणम् एव च । अधिष्ठाय मनश् चायं विषयान् उपसेवते ॥
śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ ca rasanaṃ ghrāṇam eva ca | adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṃ viṣayān upasevate ||
Presiding over ear, eye, touch, taste, smell and mind, the jīva experiences sense-objects — saṃsāra's basic mechanism.
Word by word (3)
- śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ rasanaṃ ghrāṇam
- — the five jñānendriyas: śrotra (hearing), cakṣus (sight), sparśana (touch), rasana (taste), ghrāṇa (smell) — the complete sensory pentagon
- adhiṣṭhāya manaś ca ayam
- — presiding over / taking his seat in (adhiṣṭhāya) these and also the mind (manas ca) — ayam = this one, the jīvātmā
- viṣayān upasevate
- — experiences / enjoys (upasevate) the sense-objects (viṣayān) — the full cycle: sense-organs + mind + objects = experience
Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste, and smell — and also the mind — this individual soul experiences the objects of the senses.
A modern analogy
A musician doesn't become the violin — they play it. The jīva presides over the 6-sense instrument like a musician over an orchestra. The music (experience) happens through the instruments, but the musician (ātman) is distinct. The problem arises when the musician forgets they're the musician and thinks they ARE the violin.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
The ear, the eye and the touch, the taste and the smell, using these and the manas, he enjoys the sense-objects. [1]
Presiding over the ear, the eye, the touch, the taste, and the smell, as also the mind, He experiences objects. [4]
Presiding over the ear, the eye, the touch, the taste, and the smell as well as the mind, this one enjoys objects of sense. [9]
Presiding over the ear and the eye and the organs of touch, taste, and smell, as also the mind, he acquires experience of the objects of the senses. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
He cannot stand. His mind spins. He sees only bad signs ahead.
When your mind — shaken by conflicting teachings — stands still in samādhi: that is yoga attained.
Move through the world with senses free from attraction and aversion — that clarity is the natural reward.
Tamas — born of ignorance — deludes all beings and binds through carelessness, laziness, and sleep.
Verse 9 of 20 · back to Chapter 15