Sanskrit
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥
yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṃ manaḥ
Translation
O son of Kuntî, the excited senses of even a wise man, though he be striving, impetuously carry away his mind.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A frank warning aimed directly at Arjuna: even a person of real understanding, actively trying, can have their mind forcibly dragged off by agitated senses. This isn’t a reason for despair so much as a justification for what comes next — the concrete discipline of verse 61, and the cautionary chain of verses 62–63 showing exactly how that dragging-off unfolds if left unchecked.
Concepts