Devanagari
मनोवशेऽन्ये ह्यभवन् स्म देवा
मनश्च नान्यस्य वशं समेति ।
भीष्मो हि देव: सहस: सहीयान्
युञ्ज्याद वशे तं स हि देवदेव: ॥ ४७ ॥
Verse text
mano-vaśe ’nye hy abhavan sma devā
manaś ca nānyasya vaśaṁ sameti
bhīṣmo hi devaḥ sahasaḥ sahīyān
yuṣjyād vaśe taṁ sa hi deva-devaḥ
Synonyms
manaḥ
—
of the mind
;
vaśe
—
under the control
;
anye
—
others
;
hi
—
indeed
;
abhavan
—
have become
;
sma
—
in the past
;
devāḥ
—
the senses (represented by their presiding deities)
;
manaḥ
—
the mind
;
ca
—
and
;
na
—
never
;
anyasya
—
of another
;
vaśam
—
under the control
;
sameti
—
comes
;
bhīṣmaḥ
—
fearsome
;
hi
—
indeed
;
devaḥ
—
the godlike power
;
sahasaḥ
—
than the strongest
;
sahīyān
—
stronger
;
yuṣjyāt
—
can fix
;
vaśe
—
under control
;
tam
—
that mind
;
saḥ
—
such a person
;
hi
—
indeed
;
deva
—
devaḥ — the master of all the senses .
Translation
All the senses have been under the control of the mind since time immemorial, and the mind himself never comes under the sway of any other. He is stronger than the strongest, and his godlike power is fearsome. Therefore, anyone who can bring the mind under control becomes the master of all the senses.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The senses are under the control of the mind. The mind is not under the control of anything else. The mind is fearsome, stronger than the strongest. One who controls the mind is the controller of all the senses.
“Controlling the mind depends on controlling the senses.” That is not so. The senses and their devatās are under the control of the mind. The mind (devaḥ) is fearful even for yogīs, because it is stronger than the strongest. He who controls the mind is a controller of all the senses.
manaso vaśe sarvam idaṁ babhūva nānyasya
mano vaśam anviyāya bhīṣmo hi devaḥ sahasaḥ sahīyan
When the mind is controlled, everything is controlled. The mind is not controlled by another. The mind is fearsome, stronger than the strongest. Taitirīya-brāhmaṇa 3.12.3.3.7