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.
V9 enumerates the full 6-sense apparatus to close the transmigration picture: V7 described the apparatus being 'drawn,' V8 described it being carried between births, V9 shows it in active operation in the current body. The sequence V7-9 is the complete lifecycle of the sense-body complex: formation → migration → operation. This sets up V10's contrast: the wise versus the deluded in their ability to SEE this jīva-in-body.
The 5+1 structure (5 senses + mind) maps to the Sāṃkhya antaḥkaraṇa/indriya framework. The mind (manas) is the coordinating faculty — without manas, individual senses would fire randomly. The jīva 'presides over' all 6 — it is the adhiṣṭhātṛ (governing principle), distinct from the instruments. This distinction is the key to liberation: recognize you are the adhiṣṭhātṛ, not any of the adhiṣṭhita (the governed senses).
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.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Thinking → clinging → craving → anger. The chain of suffering begins in where you let your mind dwell.
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
The yogi practises constantly in solitude — alone, mind and body subdued, free from craving and possessiveness.