Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 40
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते।
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम्।।
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम्।।
indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate
etair vimohayatyeṣa jñānam āvṛtya dehinam
also searched as "indriyani mano buddhir asyadhishthanam uchyate"
Translation
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be its instruments; by these, it overpowers the embodied self, enveloping its knowledge.
Vāṇi's rendering
Desire hides in the senses, the mind, the understanding — and from there it clouds knowing and deludes.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| इन्द्रियाणिindriyāṇi | the senses |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind |
| बुद्धिःbuddhiḥ | the understanding, the deciding faculty |
| अस्यasya | of this — of desire |
| अधिष्ठानम्adhiṣṭhānam | seat, dwelling place, the ground it stands on |
| उच्यतेucyate | is said to be |
| एतैःetaiḥ | by means of these |
| विमोहयतिvimohayati | throws into confusion, deludes |
| एषःeṣaḥ | this one — desire again |
| ज्ञानम्jñānam | knowing, clear sight |
| आवृत्यāvṛtya | having covered over, veiled |
| देहिनम्dehinam | the one who wears a body |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 40 mean?
It names where desire lives. Not out in the world of objects, but in the senses, the mind, and the buddhi — the faculty that judges. From those three seats it veils knowing and confuses the one who wears a body. Knowledge is never destroyed by desire; it is covered, the way cloud covers sun.
What does indriyani mano buddhir asyadhishthanam uchyate teach about self-control?
That control cannot begin at the outermost layer alone. Restraining the senses while the mind still rehearses the wanting, or quieting the mind while the buddhi still builds a case for it, leaves the enemy housed. Krishna maps all three floors so you know which one is currently occupied.
Why does Krishna say desire veils knowledge instead of destroying it?
Because āvṛtya means covering, not killing. Your clarity is intact underneath; it is simply not reaching you. This is why the Gītā never asks you to acquire wisdom from elsewhere. It asks you to remove what is lying over it. Something obscured can be uncovered. Something destroyed could not.
How do I know when desire has clouded my judgment?
When the reasoning arrives already finished. Clear buddhi weighs; captured buddhi defends. Watch for the moment your mind stops asking whether something is right and begins assembling reasons why it is. That shift is the veiling Krishna describes, happening in real time, inside the very instrument you trust to detect it.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna has named the enemy; now he gives its address. Desire does not attack from outside — it takes up residence in the senses, then the mind, then the understanding itself, the very faculty you would use to see it. That is why it wins so often. By the time you reason about it, it has already colored the reasoning. Knowledge is not destroyed here, Krishna says — only covered. Arjuna wants a war he can see. This one is fought inside the instruments of seeing. Notice where the argument for what you want is being made, and who furnished the room.