Sanskrit
प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि । इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेषु वर्तन्त इति धारयन् ॥
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣan nimiṣann api indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan
Translation
Speaking, giving, grasping, opening and closing the eyes, he holdeth: "The senses move among the objects of the senses."
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Completes the list of ordinary acts begun in verse 8 with four more, then supplies the reasoning behind the “I do nothing” conviction: it is the senses that move among their objects, not the self. This is the same subject-object model the chapter’s later metaphysics (verses 14-15) builds on — activity belongs to nature and its instruments, the senses, while the self that witnesses remains unmoved.
Concepts