Bhagavad Gita · Karma YogaChapter 3, Shloka 40 (3.40)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम्
॥ 3.40 ॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhirasyādhiṣṭhānamucyate
etairvimohayatyeṣa jñānamāvṛtya dehinam
Translation
"The senses, the mind and the buddhi — these are said to be its (desire's) dwelling places; through them it covers knowledge and deludes the embodied one."
Interpretation
Three hideouts. (1) The senses — where contact with objects happens; (2) the mind — where thinking (forming and weighing ideas) happens; (3) the buddhi — where decisions are made. Desire can sit in all three.
Shankaracharya: etaiḥ indriyādibhiḥ āśrayaiḥ vimohayati vividhaṃ mohayati — through these seats, the senses and the rest, it produces delusion of many kinds, covering knowledge.
Acharya Ramanuja: adhitiṣṭhati ebhiḥ ayaṃ kāmaḥ ātmānam — through these, desire takes control of the self. Made viṣaya-pravaṇaiḥ — inclined towards sense objects — they make the soul ātma-jñāna-vimukhaṃ viṣayānubhava-paraṃ karoti — turned away from knowledge of the self and absorbed in enjoying sense objects.
Connection with 2.62: Contact of the senses with objects (senses), dwelling on objects (mind), and the conviction "this is what I want" (buddhi) — the ladder of 2.62–2.63 runs on these three levels.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.