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Bhagavad-Gītā with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 2.67
indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan mano 'nuvidhīyate | tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi
Translation. For the mind that follows the senses as they range over their several objects—
that mind carries away this ascetic’s insight (prajñā), born of discrimination between Self (ātman) and non-Self (anātman),
as wind carries a boat upon the water.
Grammar check: 14 words pass / 0 flagged / 0 beyond the checkerPāṇini-verified
Every word's claimed grammar is re-derived with vidyut-prakriya, software implementing Pāṇini's rules. Flags are shown, never hidden; some are the text taking epic or Vedic liberties the classical rules do not generate.
Word by word
| surface | lemma | grammar |
|---|
| indriyāṇām | indriya | pass |
| hi | hi | pass |
| caratām | carat | pass |
| yat | yad | pass |
| manaḥ | manas | pass |
| anuvidhīyate | dhā | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| asya | idam | pass |
| harati | hṛ | pass |
| prajñām | prajñā | pass |
| vāyuḥ | vāyu | pass |
| nāvam | nau | pass |
| iva | iva | pass |
| ambhasi | ambhas | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Śaṅkara's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Construe indriyāṇām caratām as a genitive phrase governed by anuvidhīyate: the mind follows the senses while they range over their respective objects.→ The phrase denotes the senses operating upon their respective objects and supplies what the mind follows.
gita [1]indriyāṇāṃ hi yasmāt caratāṃ sva-sva-viṣayeṣu pravartamānānāṃ
For, since the senses are moving—operating upon their respective objects…
Read yat as the neuter nominative relative pronoun yad qualifying manaḥ, with tat resuming that same mind as the subject of harati.→ ‘The mind which follows … that mind carries away …’ Śaṅkara expressly identifies tat with the object-engaged mind.
gita [1]yat mano 'nuvidhīyate anupravartate tat indriya-viṣaya-vikalpanena pravṛttaṃ mano 'sya yateḥ harati prajñām
The mind which follows after them—that mind, engaged in constructing alternatives concerning sensory objects, carries away this ascetic’s insight.
Retain the formal passive morphology of anuvidhīyate but translate its contextual force as ‘follows after’ or ‘conforms to,’ not as an externally imposed training or regulation.→ ‘Follows after,’ following Śaṅkara’s direct gloss anupravartate.
gita [1]yat mano 'nuvidhīyate anupravartate
The mind which anuvidhīyate—that is, follows after.
Analyze asya as masculine genitive singular and translate it as ‘of this ascetic,’ rather than neuter ‘of this/it.’→ Masculine, because the commentary explicitly supplies yateḥ.
gita [1]mano 'sya yateḥ harati prajñām
The mind carries away the insight of this ascetic.
Render prajñā not as generic intelligence but as insight born of discrimination between Self and non-Self.→ ‘Insight (prajñā), born of discrimination between Self and non-Self.’
gita [1]prajñām ātmānātma-vivekajāṃ
Insight born of discrimination between Self and non-Self.
Take harati with the mind as subject and understand it as carrying away or destroying discriminative insight; in the simile, the wind correspondingly diverts the boat.→ The object-engaged mind is the primary subject; the wind supplies the analogous action in the simile.
gita [1]tat indriya-viṣaya-vikalpanena pravṛttaṃ mano 'sya yateḥ harati prajñām ātmānātma-vivekajāṃ nāśayati
That mind, engaged in constructing alternatives concerning sensory objects, carries away—destroys—this ascetic’s insight born of discrimination between Self and non-Self.
gita [2]evam ātma-viṣayāṃ prajñāṃ hṛtvā mano viṣaya-viṣayāṃ karoti
In the same way, after taking away insight directed toward the Self, the mind makes it directed toward sensory objects.
Interpret vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi as a simile of a wind diverting a boat upon the water from its intended course.→ The second, since the commentary explains the directional loss implicit in the comparison.
gita [2]vāyuḥ nāvam iva ambhasi udake jigamiṣatāṃ mārgāduddhṛtya unmārge yathā vāyuḥ nāvaṃ pravartayati
Like a wind with a boat upon the water: just as the wind lifts the boat of those wishing to travel from its route and drives it onto a wrong course.
Translate hi causally as ‘for.’→ Causal ‘for,’ because Śaṅkara glosses it with yasmāt.
gita [1]indriyāṇāṃ hi yasmāt
For—because—the senses…
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1indriyāṇāṃ hi yasmāt caratāṃ sva-sva-viṣayeṣu pravartamānānāṃ yat mano 'nuvidhīyate anupravartate tat indriya-viṣaya-vikalpanena pravṛttaṃ mano 'sya yateḥ harati prajñām ātmānātma-vivekajāṃ nāśayati |
2katham ? vāyuḥ nāvam iva ambhasi udake jigamiṣatāṃ mārgāduddhṛtya unmārge yathā vāyuḥ nāvaṃ pravartayati, evam ātma-viṣayāṃ prajñāṃ hṛtvā mano viṣaya-viṣayāṃ karoti ||bhgs_2.67||
3yatato hi ity upanyastasyārthasya anekadhā upapattim uktvā taṃ cārtham upapādya upasaṃharati ---