Shloka 2
Ṛṣabhadeva’s Indifference to Siddhis, Vigilance Toward the Mind, and the Kali-yuga Rise of Anti-Vedic धर्म
ऋषिरुवाच सत्यमुक्तं किन्त्विह वा एके न मनसोऽद्धा विश्रम्भमनवस्थानस्य शठकिरात इव सङ्गच्छन्ते ॥ २ ॥
ṛṣir uvāca satyam uktaṁ kintv iha vā eke na manaso ’ddhā viśrambham anavasthānasya śaṭha-kirāta iva saṅgacchante.
Śukadeva said: O King, you have spoken rightly. As a crafty hunter does not trust even captured animals, fearing they may flee, so the spiritually advanced do not trust the mind; they remain ever vigilant, watching its movements.
In Bhagavad-gītā (18.5) Lord Kṛṣṇa says:
FAQs
This verse warns that the mind is inherently unsteady, so one should not place naïve, straightforward trust in it; instead, one must be vigilant and disciplined.
He highlights hypocrisy—people may appear agreeable externally while remaining internally duplicitous, just as a hunter uses outward tactics to trap.
Do not follow every impulse as “truth”; cultivate steadiness through regulated habits, self-examination, and devotion-centered practices that align thoughts and actions.