Bg. 3.40

BG 3.40
Srila Prabhupada

Devanagari

इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते । एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ॥ ४० ॥

Verse text

indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate etair vimohayaty eṣa jṣānam āvṛtya dehinam

Synonyms

indriyāṇi the senses ; manaḥ the mind ; buddhiḥ the intelligence ; asya of this lust ; adhiṣṭhānam sitting place ; ucyate is called ; etaiḥ by all these ; vimohayati bewilders ; eṣaḥ this lust ; jṣānam knowledge ; āvṛtya covering ; dehinam of the embodied.

Translation

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

40. The senses, mind and intelligence are the seats of this lust. By these, lust, covering the knowledge of the soul, bewilders the soul.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

40. The senses, mind and intelligence are the seats of this lust. By these, lust, covering the knowledge of the soul, bewilders the soul.

Purport

The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found. Mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus when we hear about sense objects the mind generally becomes a reservoir of all ideas of sense gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories of lust. Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lustful propensities. Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor of the spirit soul. Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness. This false identification of the spirit soul is very nicely explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13) : yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijṣeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ “A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth worshipable, and who goes to the place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Where is this lust situated? This verse explains. The great fortresses and cities of this enemy lust (adhiṣṭhānam) are the senses, mind and intelligence. And the sense objects starting with sound [Note: The sense objects or viṣaya, are sound, touch, form, taste and smell.] are the provinces [Note: The provinces nourish to the cities.] ruled by the king called lust. Lust bewilders the jīva (dehinam), by covering knowledge, using the senses, mind and intelligence.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

Since the enemy lust has gained strongholds, it conquers easily. That is explained in this verse. The senses, mind and intelligence become the abodes of lust (adhiṣṭhānam); they become the huge fortified cities of lust, for manifesting kāma through enjoying the sense objects (for the sense), by decision (of the mind) and ascertainment (of the intelligence). The senses objects are the citizens of those cities. By material senses, mind and intelligence (etaiḥ), wandering here and there for sense objects, lust thus bewilders the jīva, which should know ātmā, but which possesses a body made of matter (dehinam). Bewilderment means that lust makes the jīva disinclined to knowing ātmā and inclined to enjoy sense objects.

Surrender Unto Me

The three modes of material nature cover the real knowledge of the living entity, about who he is in relation with Krsna and bewilder him who will identify with his body. Lust is the all‑devouring enemy, Krsna explained this. So it is important when one has an enemy, to know where his hold is. Srila Prabhupada explains in his Purport: "The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Krsna is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found." These three, the senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of lust. Out of these which one is the best place to attack and control the enemy? Krsna answers: