Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 15, Verse 9
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च।अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते।।
śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca
adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ viṣayān upasevate
also searched as "shrotram chakshuh sparshanam cha rasanam ghranam eva cha"
Translation
Presiding over the ear, the eye, the sense of touch, the tongue, the nose, and the mind, It experiences these objects of the senses.
Vāṇi's rendering
The soul, settling into ear and eye, touch, taste, and smell — and the mind — savours the world.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रोत्रम्śrotram | the ear, the power of hearing |
| चक्षुःcakṣuḥ | the eye, the power of seeing |
| स्पर्शनम्sparśanam | the sense of touch, the skin |
| चca | and |
| रसनम्rasanam | the tongue, the sense of taste |
| घ्राणम्ghrāṇam | the nose, the sense of smell |
| एवeva | indeed, as well |
| चca | and |
| अधिष्ठायadhiṣṭhāya | settling into, presiding over, taking its seat in |
| मनःmanaś | the mind (manaḥ before the following ca) |
| चca | and (joined in sandhi as cāyaṁ) |
| अयम्ayaṁ | this one — the soul spoken of in the previous verse |
| विषयान्viṣayān | the objects of sense, the world as tasted |
| उपसेवतेupasevate | savours, enjoys, attends upon |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 9 mean?
It names how the self meets the world. Taking its seat in hearing, sight, touch, taste, smell and the mind, it savours whatever those six bring. The senses are not the experiencer; they are the openings. Krishna is placing the one who enjoys behind the organs that do the fetching.
What does shrotram chakshuh sparshanam cha rasanam ghranam eva cha teach?
That the six instruments work only because someone is seated in them. Remove the presiding one and the ear is meat, the eye is water. Krishna lists them plainly, without praise or blame — they are the means by which the world becomes flavour. The savouring is yours; the equipment is borrowed.
Does this verse say the senses are bad?
No. The word here is upasevate — savours, attends upon. There is no condemnation in it. Elsewhere Krishna warns about being dragged by the senses, but here he is simply describing the arrangement: a self, six doors, a world coming through them. Trouble begins only when you mistake the door for yourself.
How do I use this teaching in daily life?
Catch yourself mid-experience. A voice, a smell of rain, an ache in the knee — each arrives at a gate and is received by someone. Practise noticing the receiver rather than only the arrival. Slowly the phrase my mind loosens. What remains is quieter, and it was never inside the ear.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Five doors and a sixth. Krishna has just described the self carrying the senses from body to body the way wind carries scent; now he says what it does with them — settles in, and tastes. Not trapped in the ear: presiding over it. The seeing is not the eye's, the hearing not the ear's. Something sits behind all six and savours through them. This matters because you keep locating yourself in the equipment — my failing eyes, my restless mind. The equipment is where you sit, not what you are. Next time a sound reaches you, ask who received it.