इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥
indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan mano 'nuvidhīyate | tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi ||
When mind follows the wandering senses, wisdom is carried away — like wind sweeps a ship off course.
Word by word (3)
- indriyāṇāṃ caratām
- — of the wandering / roaming senses · Caratām from car (to move, to wander, to graze). The senses described as grazing animals — naturally roaming, seeking stimulation. Not evil, but undirected. The problem begins when the mind follows them rather than leading them.
- manaḥ anuvidhīyate
- — the mind follows in their wake / obeys them · Anu = after, following. Vidhīyate from vi+dhā (to be directed, to be placed). The mind that anuvidhīyate (follows after) the senses has reversed the natural hierarchy: mind should govern senses, not be governed by them. This reversal is the root of the problem described in V62-63.
- vāyuḥ nāvam iva ambhasi
- — like wind carries a ship on water · The ship analogy is vivid and precise: the ship (mind) has the capacity for direction, but when the wind (senses) overpowers it, the captain (buddhi) loses control. The wind doesn't need to be a storm — even gentle, consistent wind can carry a ship far off course if the rudder isn't engaged.
When the mind chases after whichever sense is currently wandering, that sense carries away the person's wisdom — just as the wind carries a ship helplessly across the water.
A modern analogy
You sit down to do important work. A notification pings — the mind follows. You check it, which leads to another link, which leads to a video. Twenty minutes later you've drifted completely off course. No storm was required — just the small consistent pull of wandering senses, and a mind that followed rather than governed. The ship is miles from where it meant to go.
Take with you
- The mind following the senses (anuvidhīyate) is the default state — not a moral failure, but an unexamined one.
- Wisdom (prajñā) is the first casualty when the senses lead and the mind follows.
- The rudder (disciplined attention) can always be re-engaged — the ship can always be turned. But the longer it drifts, the more course correction is needed.
- Design your environment so the 'winds' (notifications, distractions) are weaker and your 'rudder' (clear intention) is stronger.
V67 continues the nautical image that is implicit throughout the sthitaprajña section. The ship (nāva) on water (ambhas) blown by wind (vāyu) is a clean three-part analogy: ship = mind (manas); water = the world of experience; wind = the senses pulling. Shankaracharya notes that the senses 'roam' (caratām) by nature — this is not a design flaw but the nature of the sense-instruments. The problem is the mind's anuvidhīyate (following after): the mind abdicates its proper governing role. V67 thereby diagnoses the loss of prajñā not as a sudden catastrophe but as the cumulative effect of the mind repeatedly following rather than governing — the ship drifting gradually, not capsizing dramatically. This is why the Gita's answer is not dramatic intervention but daily practice: re-engaging the rudder (discipline, bhāvanā, mat-paraḥ) consistently.
Modern parallels
Behavioral economics research on 'ego depletion' (Baumeister) shows that decision-making quality deteriorates as the day progresses when the mind has been repeatedly pulled by external stimuli. The 'attention economy' — deliberately engineered sensory pulls from apps and media — is the modern industrial-scale version of indriyāṇāṃ caratām: billions of dollars spent making your senses wander so your mind will follow.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
For when the mind follows the roaming senses, it carries away a man's wisdom as the wind carries off a boat upon the waters. [1]
For, whichever of the roaming senses the mind follows, that sense carries away his wisdom, as the wind carries away a ship on the water. [4]
As a vessel is tossed on the water by the wind, so the mind that yields to the wandering senses loses its wisdom. [6]
As the steersman on his vessel Is borne helpless by the tempest, So the struggling soul is carried Whithersoever blows the passion. [7]
For whichever of the moving senses the mind yields to, that sense carries away the man's understanding, just as the wind carries a vessel on the water. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Even the striving wise man's mind is forcibly stolen by turbulent senses. This is honest — not shameful.
Therefore: completely withdraw the senses from their objects in all directions. That is established wisdom.
Restless, turbulent, strong, unyielding — O Krishna, restraining the mind is as hard as restraining the wind.
Like a tortoise draws in its limbs, the wise one withdraws senses from objects. Wisdom stands firm.
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.