Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 41
Nārada’s Instructions: Śrāddha, True Dharma, Contentment, Yoga, and Devotion-Centered Renunciation
आहु: शरीरं रथमिन्द्रियाणि हयानभीषून्मन इन्द्रियेशम् । वर्त्मानि मात्रा धिषणां च सूतं सत्त्वं बृहद् बन्धुरमीशसृष्टम् ॥ ४१ ॥
āhuḥ śarīraṁ ratham indriyāṇi hayān abhīṣūn mana indriyeśam vartmāni mātrā dhiṣaṇāṁ ca sūtaṁ sattvaṁ bṛhad bandhuram īśa-sṛṣṭam
Les sages comparent le corps, façonné par l’ordre de Bhagavān, à un char : les sens sont les chevaux; le mental, maître des sens, est la rêne; les objets des sens sont les routes et les destinations; l’intelligence est le cocher; et la conscience qui se répand dans le corps (sattva) est cause d’attachement en ce monde.
For a bewildered person in the materialistic way of life, the body, the mind and the senses, which are engaged in sense gratification, are the cause of bondage to repeated birth, death, old age and disease. But for one who is advanced in spiritual knowledge, the same body, senses and mind are the cause of liberation. This is confirmed in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.3.3-4,9) as follows:
FAQs
This verse explains the classic chariot model: the body is the chariot, senses are horses, sense-objects are the roads, the mind functions like reins, and intelligence is the driver—showing that disciplined intelligence must guide the mind to restrain the senses.
Narada teaches Yudhishthira practical dharma and spiritual discipline—how a ruler and seeker should understand embodied life and master the inner instruments so that one can progress toward liberation and devotion.
Train intelligence through scriptural study and reflection, use it to rein in the mind, and then regulate the senses—choosing wholesome inputs and habits—so life moves toward clarity, self-control, and bhakti.