Chapter 3, Verse 40
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते | एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ||३-४०||
indriyāṇi mano buddhirasyādhiṣṭhānamucyate . etairvimohayatyeṣa jñānamāvṛtya dehinam ||3-40||
Meaning
3.40 The senses, the mind and the intellect are said to be its seat; through these it deludes the embodied by veiling his wisdom.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna now maps the strongholds of the enemy. Desire operates from three seats — the senses, the mind, and the intellect. Through these instruments it deludes the dehin, the embodied soul, by veiling the wisdom that is its true nature. Knowing where an enemy hides is essential to defeating it.
This is practical psychology of the highest order. Craving first stirs in the senses as raw attraction, then takes root in the mind as imagination and longing, and finally captures even the buddhi, the discriminating intellect, twisting our reasoning to justify what we desire. The danger deepens as it climbs: when desire corrupts the intellect itself, we lose the very faculty meant to guide us. Understanding this layered operation shows where vigilance is needed at each level. By recognizing desire's footholds, we can guard the gates — beginning with the senses before it reaches and clouds the intellect.
💡 Key Takeaway
Desire takes hold through your senses, mind, and reasoning — guard each level, for once it corrupts your judgment it is hardest to see.
Related Verses
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् | इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते ||३-६||
karmendriyāṇi saṃyamya ya āste manasā smaran . indriyārthānvimūḍhātmā mithyācāraḥ sa ucyate ||3-6||
3.6 He who, restraining the organs of action, sits thinking of the sense-objects in mind, he of deluded understanding is called a hypocrite.
एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः | अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ||३-१६||
evaṃ pravartitaṃ cakraṃ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ . aghāyurindriyārāmo moghaṃ pārtha sa jīvati ||3-16||
3.16 He who does not follow here the wheel thus set revolving, who is of sinful life, rejoicing in the senses, he lives in vain, O Arjuna.
इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ | तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ||३-३४||
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāgadveṣau vyavasthitau . tayorna vaśamāgacchettau hyasya paripanthinau ||3-34||
3.34 Attachment and aversion for the objects of the senses abide in the senses; let none come under their sway; for, they are his foes.