BG 2.67 — Sāṅkhya-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 2.67Chapter 2 · Sāṅkhya-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन् मनो ऽनुविधीयते ।

तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर् नावमिवाम्भसि ॥

indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan mano 'nuvidhīyate

tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

When the mind chases after even one sense roaming among its objects, it carries your wisdom away, as wind sweeps a boat across water.

ekras · bhāṣya

Krishna gives the analogy of the boat in the wind. "The mind that follows the indriyas as they wander among objects — that mind carries away the prajna, as wind carries a boat on the water." The image is exact. The boat is light. The wind is strong. Even one direction of wind, sustained, moves the boat against any course the boatman intended.

Krishna's specific construction names that even one indriya is enough — among the senses ranging in objects, whichever the manas follows.

Vallabha reads the manas as kartri prabalam ekam — the one predominant agent. The senses themselves are many but ungoverned only when the manas follows. Govern the manas and the senses lose their pull on the boat.

Madhusudana adds the precision: even a single indriya, when the manas is set in motion behind it, removes the prajna the practitioner has been working to establish. Not several indriyas, not a sustained pull from many — a single one is enough. The discipline is therefore not a generalized restraint one can practice partially. It is a particular discipline of the manas's relationship to whatever indriya happens to be active in the moment.

Ramanuja names the loss precisely: the manas that has not been surrendered to kainkarya, when it follows the senses, brings the slow degradation of all that the practitioner has built. The boat-and-wind image is the chapter's gentlest. After the technical sequences of 2.62-2.66, here is a picture a child can hold. One sense, one wind, one moment of letting the manas drift — and the prajna that took years to settle is on the move again.

Context

where

Chapter 2 · Sāṅkhya-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 2.66

The undisciplined have no wisdom and no power to contemplate; without contemplation there is no peace, and without peace, how can there be happiness?

What's going on

When the mind chases after even one sense roaming among its objects, it carries your wisdom away, as wind sweeps a boat across water.

Sūtras through this verse (111)

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

2.18'Imperishable' is said to mark off the Lord.───→here2.67───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.───→here2.67───→4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

2.39Wisdom closes, action opens. Same axis.───→here2.67───→3.3Three classes, one niṣṭhā each.

show all 111

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

2.18Image perishes, source endures───→here2.67───→4.13Creates yet uncreated

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

2.20The soul is conscious but only as reflection.───→here2.67───→3.27Action is the modes'; the soul only seems to act.

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

2.52Higher devotion earns higher liberation.───→here2.67───→4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.

MadhvaclassicalT4

Liberation is bliss in body — not absorptionbetween

2.50Release is embodied, blissful, never merging.───→here2.67───→2.72Body-loss in the verse is only material body.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.───→here2.67───→4.13He creates and yet is uncreated by it.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

2.50Six texts in thirty lines carry the long excursus.───→here2.67───→2.72The verse closes with the Akṣapāda rejection.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

2.49Action without wisdom is the lower zone.───→here2.67───→3.3Two registers, one task, told two ways.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causebetween

2.59The taste fades only when the source is seen.───→here2.67───→5.16Mediated knowing is just the first step.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do alonebetween

2.50Even in liberation grace remains the agent.───→here2.67───→2.72Many lives of bhakti precede the final crossing.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotbetween

2.24When two scriptures clash the higher one rules.───→here2.67───→2.72Akṣapāda and Kaṇāda are simply ruled out.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.───→here2.67───→4.11'Me' is glossed by what the speaker is doing.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordapproach

───→here2.67───→4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

2.10Thesis flat───→here2.67───→3.4Naishkarmya is not just non-doing

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningbetween

2.63'Krodhad bhavati sammohah, sammohat smriti-vibhramah, smriti-bhramshad buddhi-na───→here2.67───→3.5'Na hi kashchit kshanam api jatu tishthaty akarma-krit.' No one stays inactive e

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipbetween

2.48'Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva Dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva───→here2.67───→6.7'Jitatmanah prashantasya paramatma samahitah.' For the self-conquered, in-peace,

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

2.50Thumb. Kausalam. 'Yogah karmasu kausalam' is the line Gaurav opens the whole mne───→here2.67───→3.27Palm, kartala. Akartritva, non-doership. 'Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani s

Gauravmodernmemorial_pastoral

Memorial Pastoralbetween

2.27'Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mritasya cha.' Death is certain for the───→here2.67───→8.6'Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam.' Whatever state of being one remembers at the last

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

2.22'Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya' — body as worn-out clothes. Sister verse to 2.13,───→here2.67───→3.27Karma pillar. The 'ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate' line is where Gaura

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netibetween

2.20'Na jayate mriyate va kadachit, nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah, ajo nityah sh───→here2.67───→6.20'Yatroparamate chittam niruddham yoga-sevaya, yatra chaivatmana'tmanam pashyann

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.11The wise mourn neither the living nor the dead.───→here2.67───→2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

2.10First lay down all action, then knowledge frees.───→here2.67───→3.4Mere not-doing is not renunciation at all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

2.10Some say: combine knowledge with rites.───→here2.67───→3.1If insight is higher, why this dreadful work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

2.39So far for the seeker of the real; now hear yoga.───→here2.67───→2.69Action holds only while ignorance still holds.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

2.10Pāṇḍitya is knowing the Self — Bṛhadāraṇyaka.───→here2.67───→3.4Brāhmaṇas seek the Self by Veda, then by rite.

JayatīrthaclassicalA

Body and embodied — the inference runs on the dehī sidebetween

2.24Uncuttable, unburnt, steady, all-pervading.───→here2.67───→13.5Field and knower: body-self cut returns.

JayatīrthaclassicalB

Pañcabheda — the five distinctions enforced verse by versebetween

2.24No jaḍa-property fits the dehin.───→here2.67───→7.5Higher prakṛti is Lakṣmī, not matter.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

2.13One-self-many-bodies runs out of grammar.───→here2.67───→2.72Old-age renunciation is off topic here.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

2.39Wrap prior section, then announce next.───→here2.67───→2.72Chapter closes here; upasaṁharati names it.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātrabetween

2.62Smṛti pins each link of the chain.───→here2.67───→3.4Both śruti and smṛti held in support.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhabetween

2.50Nanu opens, smṛti runs nine deep.───→here2.67───→3.17No-kartavya rival staged then answered.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

2.39Sāṅkhya-yoga literal, not external schools.───→here2.67───→3.15If literal works, figurative is idle.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥbetween

2.50Each chain closes with iti śeṣaḥ.───→here2.67───→2.68Supply marks the chapter-seal gap.

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actbetween

2.47Only a human body can do new action.───→here2.67───→3.5No one can stop acting even for a moment.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

2.62Object pulls gaze, gaze ends in ruin.───→here2.67───→2.71The steady seer walks with no want, no mine.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workbetween

2.47Even renouncing has three flavors.───→here2.67───→3.27The modes act, ego claims to do.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

2.33Refusal is not safe; it costs everything.───→here2.67───→3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterbetween

2.41A one-pointed mind is the seeker's mark.───→here2.67───→7.1Mind on Me, refuge wholly in Me.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingbetween

2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.───→here2.67───→5.18See a sage, a cow, a dog as one.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.───→here2.67───→4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here2.67───→

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here2.67───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidapproach

───→here2.67───→3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemyapproach

───→here2.67───→2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it wereapproach

───→here2.67───→4.6I appear as if born, never really, by māyā.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldapproach

───→here2.67───→3.20Janaka acted only to hold the world together.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedapproach

───→here2.67───→2.72Standing in this state, one reaches Brahman..

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsapproach

───→here2.67───→3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here2.67───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursapproach

───→here2.67───→3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here2.67───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

2.47Right to action───→here2.67───→3.3Two paths, named

Ekrasmodernend_of_life

End of life — the threshold tourbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here2.67───→8.5Last-thought rule

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here2.67───→4.16Even the wise are confused

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentbetween · v2

2.58Tortoise withdrawing───→here2.67───→5.27Senses excluded

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesbetween · v2

2.41Single-pointed buddhi───→here2.67───→9.22Yogakshema for the undivided

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementbetween · other

2.63Anger to ruin───→here2.67───→3.37Kāma is the enemy

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asibetween

2.1First hexad opens, tvam-pada implicit.───→here2.67───→6.46Inner-self hexad closes; pivot prepared.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

2.55Same words: fruit for one, means for one.───→here2.67───→3.3Three classes, each its own niṣṭhā.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

2.47Four objections in one paragraph. Anchor.───→here2.67───→7.1Doubt about refuge, blocked by mad-āśraya.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

2.47No-fruit ≠ no-karma: kāmya-tyāga ≠ nitya-tyāga.───→here2.67───→3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyatebetween

2.55A description, not a command. Anchor.───→here2.67───→12.12Bhakta's gradient read as description.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

2.48Yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi: stand and act.───→here2.67───→3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentbetween

2.39Wisdom section wound up here.───→here2.67───→6.46Dhyāna section sealed: yogin is supreme.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

2.10Word-fit holds even at the dialogue's pivot.───→here2.67───→3.1Chapter-1 verse opens with word-fit, then bīja.

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionapproach · v2

───→here2.67───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvaapproach · v2

───→here2.67───→3.27Modes act, ego claims

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsapproach

───→here2.67───→3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here2.67───→

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

2.47Fruit-free action cannot bind───→here2.67───→3.30Offer all your acts

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

2.1Six-verse prelude lays out the whole map.───→here2.67───→3.1Four-verse prelude frames renunciation.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderbetween

2.39The yoga-mind is just the sāṅkhya-mind, retold.───→here2.67───→5.4Only the foolish call the two paths different.

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personbetween

2.16Real and unreal sort into pure and impure.───→here2.67───→7.4Lower nature is eight-fold; higher is the soul-collective.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordbetween

2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.───→here2.67───→6.46The yogi closing the ṣaṭka is a mind-stiller.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

2.11Vallabha quotes his own Nibandha at verse two.───→here2.67───→3.30The Nibandha is cited again on threefold drop.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

2.39Two minds, two paths, never one rule for all.───→here2.67───→3.3Arjuna's mixed question gets a sorted answer.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landbetween

2.47The unready can only act, not yet know.───→here2.67───→3.30Even a seeker not-yet-pure offers, drops fruit-claim.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

2.47Action offered, fruit-free, cannot bear bondage.───→here2.67───→3.30Offer all your acts; fight without fruit-claim.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

2.39Like light and dark, they cannot share a place.───→here2.67───→2.69The knower wakes to what the world sleeps to.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

2.11Anchor: two confusions — one universal, one yours alone.───→here2.67───→11.1Arjuna marks the universal moha cured.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedapproach

───→here2.67───→3.1Drop something inside the act, not the act.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractapproach

───→here2.67───→4.7When dharma weakens, the Lord descends to play.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningapproach

───→here2.67───→3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runapproach

───→here2.67───→3.1The architecture ends in living-liberation, then bodily.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

2.12From here to 18.66: one Krishna-utterance.───→here2.67───→5.16Knowledge dispels what mā śucaḥ will close.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorbetween

2.39Sāṅkhya-yoga split: not two methods, two angles.───→here2.67───→7.18The jñānin is dearest; not interchangeable.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

2.39What chapter 3 will resolve, named here.───→here2.67───→3.1Arjuna's question resolves 2.49's hint.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

2.39Sāṅkhya and yoga: not two roads.───→here2.67───→3.3Two paths, one orientation toward Me.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

2.11First grief — chapter-1 cowardice — closed.───→here2.67───→5.16Knowledge-darkness cleared — not yet refuge.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentapproach

───→here2.67───→3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

2.11Confusing self with body is the source of grief.───→here2.67───→13.2For their rescue, truth-knowledge is uttered.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

2.39Work polishes the inner instrument first.───→here2.67───→3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerapproach

───→here2.67───→3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here2.67───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerbetween

2.24The self is one unbroken awareness.───→here2.67───→3.1Knowing versus acting is the wrong cut.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessbetween

2.45Exit the modes — not better modes are the goal.───→here2.67───→7.12Modes from the Lord — the Lord not in them.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

2.20Cit alone — the self cannot be destroyed.───→here2.67───→8.3Brahman, ātman, all facets of one Lord.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here2.67───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departureapproach

───→here2.67───→4.1Teaching descends; the teacher does not move.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)between

2.39Practice seam begins.───→here2.67───→6.46The yogi outranks every other path.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

2.47Act, but not for the fruit of acting.───→here2.67───→3.3Action without claim = worship.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerapproach

───→here2.67───→4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here2.67───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

Śabda · lemmas (14 unique · 14 occurrences)

हरति √hṛ — to take, carry off (verbal root) · present indicative 3rd person singular verb
अस्य idam — this (proximal demonstrative) · genitive masculine singular noun

show all 14

इन्द्रियाणाम् indriya — sense, sense-organ; the eleven indriyas (5 jñānendriyas + 5 karmendriyas + manas) · genitive neuter plural noun
हि hi — for, indeed, because (particle)
चरताम् √car — to move, go, perform (verbal root) · genitive neuter plural present participle verb
यत् yat — who, which (relative pronoun, variant of yad); also: to strive, exert (verbal root)
मनः manas — mind (lower mind), the inner organ of perception · nominative neuter singular noun
अनुविधीयते anu-√vidhā — (anu- + vidhā: to ordain) · present indicative pass 3rd person singular verb
तत् tad — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · nominative neuter singular noun
प्रज्ञाम् prajñā — wisdom, insight, discriminating intelligence · accusative feminine singular noun
वायुः vāyu — wind; the wind-god Vāyu · nominative masculine singular noun
नावम् nau — we two (dual pronoun); also: ship · accusative feminine singular noun
इव iva — like, as if
अम्भसि ambhas — water · locative neuter singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If even a single indriya followed by the manas is sufficient to destroy prajñā, what does this imply about the cumulative condition of a person who habitually indulges several indriyāṇi simultaneously — is there a threshold below which recovery of viveka becomes practically impossible without external grace?
02Śaṅkara specifies that the prajñā being destroyed is ātmānātma-viveka-jā — born of discriminative wisdom — whereas Madhva says it is jñāna that has not yet even arisen. Do these two positions have different practical implications for how early in the path sense-discipline must be established?

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03The boat simile uses vāyur (wind on water) rather than a current or a wave: wind is invisible, intermittent, and can shift direction. What does this precise choice of image imply about the phenomenology of sense-distraction — is it sudden or gradual, predictable or arbitrary?
04Madhusūdana distinguishes between manas in cāñcalya (fluid, water-like state) and manas in sthairya (solidity, land-like state). Is this distinction between fluid and solid a reversible one — and what practices does the tradition prescribe for transitioning between the two?
05Rāmānuja uses the word prasahya (by force) to describe how the wind carries off the boat. Does this imply that the aspirant who has begun vivikatātma-pravaṇā (inclination toward the pure Self) can be forcibly displaced from that orientation, or is there a point of stability at which the viṣaya-pull loses its power?
06Vallabha identifies the manas as the one predominant kartṛ (agent) among the indriyāṇi. If the manas is the primary mover, what does this say about where bhakti-practice should focus its energy — on restraining each individual indriya, or on redirecting the manas itself toward Kṛṣṇa as the highest viṣaya?
07The verse is positioned as the causal ground for the ayukta's lack of buddhi stated in 2.66. All six commentators read it as completing an argument. What does this structural position reveal about the Gītā's own pedagogical logic — does it proceed from prescription to mechanism, or from mechanism to prescription, and why does the sequence matter?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Before a high-stakes meeting, negotiation, or conversation, pause and note which indriya is already engaged — is the mind following a sound in the hallway, a notification, an anxiety about the outcome? The Śaṅkara reading names this the moment of viveka-destruction: not the distraction itself but the manas choosing to anuvidhīyate (follow after) it. Train the practice of catching that choice-point and returning the manas to the ātma-viṣayā orientation — even ten seconds of deliberate re-centering re-establishes the substrate on which clear discernment can function.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

When you notice that the manas has been seized — you opened one browser tab and are now on your fifth, or you picked up the phone for a message and are now deep in a feed — recognize this as the moment Rāmānuja describes: the pratikūla vāyu (adverse wind) has already acted with prasahya (force). The Viśiṣṭādvaita application is not self-criticism but re-dedication: redirect the same manas that was pursuing viṣayāḥ toward a brief act of kainkarya — offer the next task, however mundane, explicitly to Bhagavān, converting the drift into service. This converts the anuvidhīyate from a movement toward objects into a movement toward Nārāyaṇa.

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Dvaita

Madhva's reading that even utpannā (already arisen) jñāna can be overpowered is a warning against spiritual complacency: prior insight, prior clarity, prior resolution do not immunize you from the next wave of sense-pull. The everyday application is regular surrender-checkpoints — at morning, midday, and evening, explicitly acknowledge dependence on Hari for the maintenance of whatever clarity has been given, rather than treating yesterday's insight as banked capital. The jīva's prajñā is not self-sustaining; it requires continuous re-alignment with its source.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's identification of the manas as the kartṛ prabalam ekam (one predominant agent) points to a single daily practice: before the day begins, offer the manas itself to Kṛṣṇa — not a list of tasks, not a plan, but the manas as an instrument placed in His hands as prasāda returned to its source. When the manas later chases a viṣaya, the recollection is not 'I must control this' but 'this manas belongs to Kṛṣṇa — what is it doing outside His service?' That reframe is the Puṣṭi-mārga correction, gentle and immediate.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's image of the pramatta (heedless) helmsman is the operative warning: the problem is not wind or waves but the helmsman's own heedlessness — avashīkṛtatva (failure to master the indriyāṇi). In practical terms, this means identifying the one indriya that is currently avaśīkṛta (ungoverned) in your life — not all of them at once, but the single weakest link Śrīdhara points to — and applying one specific bhakti-practice (nāma-japa, sevā, or kīrtana) precisely to that point of leakage, rather than a general diffuse effort that leaves the vulnerability untouched.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's distinction between manas in cāñcalya (water-like fluidity) and manas in sthairya (land-like stability) maps directly onto the difference between a reactive day and a grounded one. The practical application is to identify what puts the manas on solid ground for you personally — a short dhyāna (meditation), a few verses of bhakti-poetry, a physical grounding gesture — and install it as the first act of the day, before the indriyāṇi engage with their objects. Once the manas is on land, the wind of viṣayāḥ still blows but cannot drag the vessel; the sādhaka remains mobile and functional precisely because the foundation is stable.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 2, Verse 67: Krishna to Arjuna — Sāṅkhya-Yoga