3.40 — How desire veils knowing

Sanskrit · Teaching film · Everyday practice

Speaker: Krishna, addressing Arjuna.

The shloka

इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते ।
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ॥ ४० ॥

Brief meaning

The senses, the mind and the understanding are said to be its dwelling place. Through them it veils knowledge and bewilders the embodied self.

In the conversation

Krishna offers three images: fire hidden by smoke, a mirror covered by dust, a child concealed in the womb. Desire covers understanding in the same way, sometimes lightly, sometimes deeply. It dwells in the senses, the mind and the intellect, and from there bewilders the embodied self. Knowing where it lives is the first step in loosening its hold.

Word by word

इन्द्रियाणि मनः बुद्धिः

The senses, the mind and the understanding

अस्य अधिष्ठानम् उच्यते

are said to be its seat.

एतैः विमोहयति एषः

Through these it bewilders

ज्ञानम् आवृत्य देहिनम्

the embodied self, veiling knowledge.

Going deeper

Krishna gives three images: dhūma, smoke over fire, ādarśa, dust on a mirror, and ulba, the womb covering an unborn child. Many commentators read them as three depths of covering, from light to deep. Duṣpūra means hard to fill. Adhiṣṭhāna means seat or dwelling. Desire works through the senses, the mind and the intellect, so understanding must begin with knowing where it hides.

Everyday reflection

You set out to buy one thing online and find yourself, an hour later, comparing products you never needed. Desire moved through the senses with images, the mind with imagined pleasure, and even reasoning with convincing arguments. Next time, pause and ask where the wanting is speaking from. Naming it can let a little light through the smoke. Which of these three dwellings does desire use most often in you?

Consider today: Observe whether a desire starts in the senses, the mind or reasoning.