The Five Elements and the Mastery of the Senses

Verse 1 (3.215.1)

एवमुक्तः स विप्रस्तु धर्मव्याधेन भारत । कथामकथयद्भूयो मनसः प्रीतिवर्धनीम् ॥

evamuktaḥ sa viprastu dharmavyādhena bhārata | kathāmakathayadbhūyo manasaḥ prītivardhanīm

Thus addressed by Dharmavyadha, O Bharata, the brahmin took up the conversation once more, a conversation that delighted his mind.

Verse 2 (3.215.2)

महाभूतानि यान्याहुः पञ्च धर्मविदांवर । एकैकस्य गुणान्सम्यक्पञ्चानामपि मे वद ॥

mahābhūtāni yānyāhuḥ pañca dharmavidāṃvara | ekaikasya guṇānsamyakpañcānāmapi me vada

O best of those who know dharma, tell me properly the qualities of each of the five things that are called the great elements.

Verse 3 (3.215.3)

भूमिरापस्तथा ज्योतिर्वायुराकाशमेव च । गुणोत्तराणि सर्वाणि तेषां वक्ष्यामि ते गुणान् ॥

bhūmirāpastathā jyotirvāyurākāśameva ca | guṇottarāṇi sarvāṇi teṣāṃ vakṣyāmi te guṇān

Earth, water, fire, air and space: each of them holds, along with its own, the qualities of those that come after it. I will tell you what their qualities are.

Note on the text: Corrected गुणोत्तराणइ → गुणोत्तराणि (misprint in Wikisource; इ for the vowel sign ि; the critical edition reads guṇottarāṇi).

Verse 4 (3.215.4)

भूमिः पञ्चगुणा ब्रह्मन्नुदकं च चतुर्गुणम् । गुणास्त्रयस्तेजसि च त्रयश्चाकाशवातयोः ॥

bhūmiḥ pañcaguṇā brahmannudakaṃ ca caturguṇam | guṇāstrayastejasi ca trayaścākāśavātayoḥ

Earth has five qualities, O brahmin, and water four; fire has three, and air and space between them have three.

Note on the text: Corrected ब्रह्मननुदकं → ब्रह्मन्नुदकं (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped virama; the critical edition reads brahmann udakaṃ).

Verse 5 (3.215.5)

शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धश्च पञ्चमः । एते गुणाः पञ्च भूमेः सर्वेभ्यो गुणवत्तराः ॥

śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhaśca pañcamaḥ | ete guṇāḥ pañca bhūmeḥ sarvebhyo guṇavattarāḥ

Sound, touch, form, taste and, fifth, smell: these are the five qualities of earth, which is richer in qualities than all the others.

Note on the text: Corrected एतेगुणाः → एते गुणाः (word-spacing slip in Wikisource).

Verse 6 (3.215.6)

शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसश्चापि द्विजोत्तम । अपामेते गुणा ब्रह्मन्कीर्तितास्तव सुव्रत ॥

śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṃ ca rasaścāpi dvijottama | apāmete guṇā brahmankīrtitāstava suvrata

Sound, touch, form and taste as well, O best of the twice-born: these I have named to you as the qualities of water, O brahmin of good vows.

Note on the text: Corrected सरश्चापि → रसश्चापि (misprint in Wikisource; transposed aksharas; the critical edition reads rasaś cāpi).

Verse 7 (3.215.7)

शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च तेजसोऽथ गुणास्त्रयः । शब्दः स्पर्शश्च वायौ तु शब्दश्चाकाश एव तु ॥

śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṃ ca tejaso'tha guṇāstrayaḥ | śabdaḥ sparśaśca vāyau tu śabdaścākāśa eva tu

Sound, touch and form are the three qualities of fire; sound and touch belong to air, and sound alone to space.

Verse 8 (3.215.8)

एते पञ्चदश ब्रह्मन्गुणा भूतेषु पञ्चसु । वर्तन्ते सर्वभूतेषु येषु लोकाः प्रतिष्ठिताः ॥

ete pañcadaśa brahmanguṇā bhūteṣu pañcasu | vartante sarvabhūteṣu yeṣu lokāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ

These fifteen qualities, O brahmin, abide in the five elements on which the worlds rest, and they are present in all beings.

Note on the text: This verse is CE 3.202.8ab + 8cd (the automatic alignment did not match it).

Verse 9 (3.215.9)

अन्योन्यं नातिवर्तन्ते संपच्च भवति द्विज । यदा तु विषमं भावमाचरन्ति चराचराः ॥

anyonyaṃ nātivartante saṃpacca bhavati dvija | yadā tu viṣamaṃ bhāvamācaranti carācarāḥ

So long as they do not overstep one another, there is well-being, O twice-born. But when moving and unmoving beings fall into a state of imbalance,

Note on the text: Corrected सम्यक्व → संपच्च (misprint in Wikisource; सम्यक्व is not a word; the critical edition reads saṃpac ca). This verse is CE 3.202.8ef + 9ab; विषमं भावम् for viṣamībhāvam is a recension variant.

Verse 10 (3.215.10)

तदा देही देहमन्यं व्यतिरोहति कालतः । प्रातिलोम्याद्विनश्यन्ति जायन्ते चानुपूर्वशः ॥

tadā dehī dehamanyaṃ vyatirohati kālataḥ | prātilomyādvinaśyanti jāyante cānupūrvaśaḥ

then, in the course of time, the embodied one passes into another body. Beings perish in the reverse order and are born in due order.

Note on the text: This verse is CE 3.202.9cd + 10ab; प्रातिलोम्याद् for ānupūrvyā is a recension variant (the Wikisource commentary records ānupūrvyā as another reading).

Verse 11 (3.215.11)

तत्र तत्र हि दृश्यन्ते धातवः पाञ्चभौतिकाः । यैरावृतमिदं सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजङ्गमम् ॥

tatra tatra hi dṛśyante dhātavaḥ pāñcabhautikāḥ | yairāvṛtamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagatsthāvarajaṅgamam

Everywhere one sees the bodily elements formed of the five great elements, by which this whole world of the moving and the unmoving is pervaded.

Note on the text: Corrected तत्रहि → तत्र हि (word-spacing slip in Wikisource). This verse is CE 3.202.10cd + 10ef.

Verse 12 (3.215.12)

इन्द्रियैर्गृह्यते यद्यत्तत्तद्व्यक्तमिति स्मृतम् । तदव्यक्तमिति ज्ञेयं लिङ्गग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् ॥

indriyairgṛhyate yadyattattadvyaktamiti smṛtam | tadavyaktamiti jñeyaṃ liṅgagrāhyamatīndriyam

Whatever is grasped by the senses is called the manifest; what lies beyond the senses and is grasped only by inference is to be known as the unmanifest.

Verse 13 (3.215.13)

यथास्वं ग्राहकान्येषां शब्दादीनामिमानि तु । इन्द्रियाणि तथा देही धारयन्निह तप्यते ॥

yathāsvaṃ grāhakānyeṣāṃ śabdādīnāmimāni tu | indriyāṇi tathā dehī dhārayanniha tapyate

These senses grasp, each in its own way, sound and the other objects; and the embodied one, holding them, suffers here.

Verse 14 (3.215.14)

लोके विततमात्मानं लोकं चात्मनि पश्यति । परापरज्ञः सक्तः सन्स तु भूतानि पश्यति ॥

loke vitatamātmānaṃ lokaṃ cātmani paśyati | parāparajñaḥ saktaḥ sansa tu bhūtāni paśyati

He sees the self spread through the world, and the world within the self. Knowing the higher and the lower, even while still attached, he sees all beings.

Verse 15 (3.215.15)

पश्यतः सर्वभूतानि सर्वावस्थासु सर्वदा । ब्रह्मभूतस्य संयोगो नाशुभेनोपपद्यते ॥

paśyataḥ sarvabhūtāni sarvāvasthāsu sarvadā | brahmabhūtasya saṃyogo nāśubhenopapadyate

One who sees all beings in all their states at all times, and has become one with Brahman, has no contact with what is impure.

Note on the text: Corrected ब्रह्मभूतस् → ब्रह्मभूतस्य (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped य; the critical edition reads brahmabhūtasya).

Verse 16 (3.215.16)

ज्ञानमूलात्मकं क्लेशमतिवृत्तस्य मोहजम् । लोकबुद्धिप्रकाशेन ज्ञेयमार्गेण गम्यते ॥

jñānamūlātmakaṃ kleśamativṛttasya mohajam | lokabuddhiprakāśena jñeyamārgeṇa gamyate

For one who has passed beyond the affliction born of delusion, which springs from the want of knowledge, the path to what must be known is travelled by the light of understanding that illumines the world.

Verse 17 (3.215.17)

अनादिनिधनं जन्तुमात्मयोनिं सदाव्ययम् । अनौपम्यममूर्तं च भगवानाह बुद्धिमान् ॥

anādinidhanaṃ jantumātmayoniṃ sadāvyayam | anaupamyamamūrtaṃ ca bhagavānāha buddhimān

The wise and blessed one has declared the living being to be without beginning or end, self-born, ever imperishable, beyond compare and without form.

Note on the text: This verse is CE 3.202.16ab + 16cd (the automatic alignment did not match it).

Verse 18 (3.215.18)

तपोमूलमिदं सर्वं यन्मां विप्रानुपृच्छसि । तपसा हि समाप्नोति यद्यदेवाभिवाञ्छति । इन्द्रियाण्येव संयम्य तपो भवति नान्यथा ॥

tapomūlamidaṃ sarvaṃ yanmāṃ viprānupṛcchasi | tapasā hi samāpnoti yadyadevābhivāñchati | indriyāṇyeva saṃyamya tapo bhavati nānyathā

All this that you ask me about, O brahmin, has its root in austerity. By austerity a man attains whatever he desires. And austerity is nothing other than the restraint of the senses.

Note on the text: Removed the backtick and quote mark around the second line (Wikisource's mark for an inserted passage). The first line is CE 3.202.16ef; the second and third lines are not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 19 (3.215.19)

इन्द्रियाण्येव तत्सर्वं यत्स्वर्गनरकावुभौ । निगृहीतविसृष्टानि स्वर्गाय नरकाय च ॥

indriyāṇyeva tatsarvaṃ yatsvarganarakāvubhau | nigṛhītavisṛṣṭāni svargāya narakāya ca

The senses alone are all that heaven and hell both are: restrained, they lead to heaven; let loose, they lead to hell.

Note on the text: Corrected तत्सर्वंयत् → तत्सर्वं यत् (word-spacing slip in Wikisource).

Verse 20 (3.215.20)

एष योगविधिः कृत्स्नो यावदिन्द्रियधारणम् । एतन्मूलं हि तपसः स्वर्गस्य नरकस्य च ॥

eṣa yogavidhiḥ kṛtsno yāvadindriyadhāraṇam | etanmūlaṃ hi tapasaḥ svargasya narakasya ca

This is the whole method of yoga: holding the senses in check. This is the root of austerity, and of heaven and of hell.

Verse 21 (3.215.21)

इन्द्रियाणां प्रसङ्गेन दोषमार्च्छत्यसंशयम् । सन्नियम्य तु तान्येव ततः सिद्धिं समाप्नुयात् ॥

indriyāṇāṃ prasaṅgena doṣamārcchatyasaṃśayam | sanniyamya tu tānyeva tataḥ siddhiṃ samāpnuyāt

Through attachment of the senses a man without doubt comes to harm; but by restraining those very senses he attains success.

Note on the text: Corrected दोमार्च्छत्यसंशयम् → दोषमार्च्छत्यसंशयम् (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped ष; the critical edition reads doṣam ṛcchaty asaṃśayam).

Verse 22 (3.215.22)

षण्णामात्मनि योज्यानामैश्वर्यं योऽधितिष्ठति । न स पापैः कुतोऽनर्थैर्युज्यते विजितेन्द्रियः ॥

ṣaṇṇāmātmani yojyānāmaiśvaryaṃ yo'dhitiṣṭhati | na sa pāpaiḥ kuto'narthairyujyate vijitendriyaḥ

He who holds sovereignty over the six that are to be yoked within the self, he who has conquered his senses, is not touched by sins, much less by misfortunes.

Note on the text: Corrected षण्णामात्प्रनि → षण्णामात्मनि (misprint in Wikisource; प्र for म; the critical edition reads ṣaṇṇām ātmani). योज्यानाम् and अधितिष्ठति for nityānām and adhigacchati are recension variants.

Verse 23 (3.215.23)

रथः शरीरं पुरुषस्य दृष्ट- । मात्मा नियन्तेन्द्रियाण्याहुरश्वान् । तैरप्रमत्तः कुशली सदश्वै- । र्दान्तैः सुखं याति रथीव धीरः ॥

rathaḥ śarīraṃ puruṣasya dṛṣṭa- | mātmā niyantendriyāṇyāhuraśvān | tairapramattaḥ kuśalī sadaśvai- | rdāntaiḥ sukhaṃ yāti rathīva dhīraḥ

A man's body is seen as a chariot, the self as its driver, and the senses, they say, are its horses. With these good horses well tamed, the skilled, heedful and steady man travels at ease like a warrior in his chariot.

Note on the text: Corrected र्दान्त → र्दान्तैः (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped ending; the critical edition reads dāntaiḥ).

Verse 24 (3.215.24)

षण्णामात्मनियुक्तानामिन्द्रियाणां प्रमाथिनाम् । यो धीरो धारयेद्रश्मीन्स स्यात्परमसारथिः ॥

ṣaṇṇāmātmaniyuktānāmindriyāṇāṃ pramāthinām | yo dhīro dhārayedraśmīnsa syātparamasārathiḥ

He who, being steady, holds the reins of the six turbulent senses yoked to the self is the finest of charioteers.

Verse 25 (3.215.25)

इन्द्रियाणां प्रसृष्टानां हयानामिव वर्त्मसु । धृतिं कुर्वीत सारथ्ये धृत्या तानि जयेद्ध्रुवम् ॥

indriyāṇāṃ prasṛṣṭānāṃ hayānāmiva vartmasu | dhṛtiṃ kurvīta sārathye dhṛtyā tāni jayeddhruvam

When the senses run loose like horses on the road, one should hold them with resolve, as a charioteer does; by resolve one surely masters them.

Verse 26 (3.215.26)

इन्द्रियाणां विचरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरते बुद्धिं नावं वायुरिवाम्भसि ॥

indriyāṇāṃ vicaratāṃ yanmano'nuvidhīyate | tadasya harate buddhiṃ nāvaṃ vāyurivāmbhasi

When the mind follows the senses as they roam, it carries off a man's understanding as the wind carries off a boat on the water.

Note on the text: Corrected तदस् → तदस्य (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped य; the critical edition reads tad asya).

Verse 27 (3.215.27)

येषु विप्रतिपद्यन्ते षट्स्वमोहात्फलागमम् । तेष्वध्यवसिताध्यायी विन्दते ध्यानजं फलम् ॥

yeṣu vipratipadyante ṣaṭsvamohātphalāgamam | teṣvadhyavasitādhyāyī vindate dhyānajaṃ phalam

Those six over which men go astray as they seek their fruits: one who, free of delusion, meditates on them with firm resolve gains the fruit that is born of meditation.