Bhagavad Gita 3.40
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 40 of 43
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते । एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate | etair vimohayaty eṣa jñānam āvṛtya dehinam ||
Desire operates at all three levels — senses, mind, intellect. It covers knowledge at each and deludes completely.
Word by word (3)
- indriyāṇi manaḥ buddhiḥ asya adhiṣṭhānam
- — the senses, mind, and intellect are said to be its seat · Indriyāṇi = the senses (the five sense-organs). Manas = mind (the processing faculty). Buddhi = intellect/discriminative intelligence. Adhiṣṭhāna = seat, abode, residence (adhi+sthāna = where it stands). Kāma (desire) has three levels of residence: in the senses (sensory craving), in the mind (emotional wanting), and in the intellect (rationalized desire, philosophical justification of wanting).
- etaiḥ vimohayati jñānam āvṛtya dehinam
- — through these it deludes the embodied one by covering knowledge · Etaiḥ = through these (the three — senses, mind, intellect). Vimohayati = thoroughly deludes (vi+moha). Jñānam āvṛtya = having covered knowledge. Dehinam = the embodied being (deha = body). The mechanism: kāma operates through all three levels simultaneously, covering knowledge at each level, deluding the whole person.
- adhiṣṭhānam ucyate
- — adhiṣṭhānam = the seat/base/headquarters (adhi = over/upon; sthāna = place of standing; the locus from which something operates and commands); ucyate = is said to be (passive of vac = to speak; traditional/authoritative assertion); desire's three-level seat is the pedagogical key: to uproot desire you must address it at all three levels — senses (gross), mind (subtle), intellect (subtler); attacking only the sense-level leaves the deeper installations intact
The senses, mind, and intellect are said to be its seat. Through these — covering knowledge — it thoroughly deludes the embodied being.
A modern analogy
Desire doesn't just work at the body level (craving food, stimulation). It also works at the emotional level (wanting approval, love). And at the intellectual level ('I should want X because it will make me better/wiser/more evolved'). Desire covers you at all three levels simultaneously.
Take with you
- Desire has three levels of operation — sensory, emotional, intellectual. All three must be engaged.
- Intellectual desire (using wisdom to justify wanting) is the most subtle and the hardest to catch.
- Dehinam vimohayati — it deludes the embodied being completely when all three levels are active.
- This maps to the next verse's strategy of controlling the senses first: address the levels hierarchically, starting with the senses.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be its seat; through these it deludes the embodied being by veiling his wisdom. [1]
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be its seat; through these it deludes the embodied one by veiling his wisdom. [4]
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be its abode; through these it deludes the embodied, veiling his wisdom. [6]
The senses, intellect, the mind — these are its seat! Through these it fools and cheats the living man, Veiling his wisdom. [7]
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are called its seat; through these it deludes the soul by veiling its wisdom. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Therefore: control the senses first. Then slay this sinful destroyer of both knowledge and direct wisdom.
Senses < mind < intellect < Self. Know the hierarchy — the Self is highest, and from there desire can be defeated.
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Thinking → clinging → craving → anger. The chain of suffering begins in where you let your mind dwell.
The yogi practises constantly in solitude — alone, mind and body subdued, free from craving and possessiveness.
When the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone, free from all desire-pull — that is called yoga.
Verse 40 of 43 · back to Chapter 3