A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Desire conquers by hijacking the mind's own instruments.”
The senses, the mind, and the discerning mind are said to be its seat. Through them, it deludes the embodied person by veiling understanding.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallythe senses · the mind · the discerning mind · of this · seat, basis · through these · deludes · this · understanding · covering · the embodied one
Desire works through the senses, the restless mind, and the discerning mind. It clouds understanding and makes a person act blindly.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Yoga" (The Yoga of Action).
Verse 40 sits in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Yoga, "The Yoga of Action". The chapter has 43 verses in total.
A student sits down to study, glances at the cricket score, then the highlights, then a match replay. Desire came in through the eyes, then took the mind, and by evening the judgment to stop was gone.
Did you like this verse?
Senses, mind and intellect are desire's seat, Krishna says, and from there it veils understanding.
What this verse means
Desire works through the senses, the restless mind, and the discerning mind. It clouds understanding and makes a person act blindly.
Context & commentary
Krishna is tracing the enemy inside the human system. Desire works from within, using the senses, the restless mind, and even the discerning mind to cloud judgment.
What it looks like today
A student sits down to study, glances at the cricket score, then the highlights, then a match replay. Desire came in through the eyes, then took the mind, and by evening the judgment to stop was gone.
“You are less helpless when you can see how desire takes over your mind.”
Explore related themes: manas (49 verses), buddhi (26 verses), kama (23 verses)