Verse 15.9
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च | अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ||९||
Transliteration (IAST)
śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca | adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ viṣayān upasevate ||9||
Word-by-Word Meanings
śrotram-the ear
cakṣuḥ-the eye
sparśanam-the sense of touch
rasanam-the tongue
ghrāṇam-the nose
adhiṣṭhāya-presiding over
manaḥ-the mind
viṣayān upasevate-enjoys the sense objects
Translation
Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste, and smell, as well as the mind, this soul enjoys the objects of the senses.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that the jiva, though itself pure consciousness, appears to enjoy sense objects by identifying with the mind and senses. The word 'adhiṣṭhāya' (presiding over) indicates the jiva's role as the witness-consciousness that illumines all sensory experience. Ramanuja notes that this enjoyment is the cause of bondage - the jiva's entanglement with prakriti through the senses.
Themes
atmanjnana