Shloka 9
Chapter 43: Tumult of Battle-Sounds and the Proliferation of Dvandva
Paired Engagements
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शन॑ं च रसन॑ प्राणमेव च । अधिष्ठाय मनश्वायं विषयानुपसेवते,यह जीवात्मा श्रोत्र, चक्षु और त्वचाको तथा रसना, प्राण और मनको आश्रय करके अर्थात् इन सबके सहारेसे ही विषयोंका सेवन करता है?
śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ prāṇam eva ca | adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ viṣayān upasevate ||
Dieses verkörperte Selbst stützt sich auf Ohr, Auge, Tastsinn, Zunge und sogar auf den Lebenshauch (prāṇa) und nimmt den Geist zum Sitz; so wendet es sich den Sinnesobjekten zu und genießt sie.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how the embodied self functions in experience: it depends on the sense-faculties and prāṇa, with the mind coordinating them, to contact and enjoy sense-objects. Ethically, it points toward understanding the mechanism of attachment so that one may cultivate restraint and discernment.
Arjuna is speaking and articulating a reflective point about the jīva’s dependence on the senses, prāṇa, and mind in engaging with worldly objects—framing an inquiry into inner discipline and the nature of embodied experience within the broader Bhīṣma-parvan discourse.