Shloka 40
Karma-Saṃnyāsa–Karma-Yoga Saṃvāda
Renunciation and the Discipline of Action
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते । एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम्
indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate | etair vimohayaty eṣa jñānam āvṛtya dehinam ||
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be its seat. Using these, it bewilders the embodied being by veiling true knowledge.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies how delusion operates: it takes hold through the senses, mind, and intellect, and by working through these faculties it covers discernment (jñāna). Ethical clarity therefore requires disciplined governance of these inner instruments.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavadgītā dialogue on the battlefield, Arjuna articulates a psychological insight about the inner enemy that obstructs right action: it resides in and manipulates the senses, mind, and intellect, thereby clouding the embodied person’s understanding.