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Bhagavad-gītā 2.60

यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥ ६० ॥
yatato hy api kaunteya
[yatato hy api kaunteya]
puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ
[purushasya vipashchitah]
indriyāṇi pramāthīni
[indriyaani pramaatheeni]
haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ
[haranti prasabham manah]
Word-for-word
yatataḥ — while endeavoring hi — certainly api — in spite of kaunteya — O son of Kuntī puruṣasya — of a man vipaścitaḥ — full of discriminating knowledge indriyāṇi — the senses pramāthīni — agitating haranti — throw prasabham — by force manaḥ — the mind .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yatato hy api kaunteya
yatataḥ
while endeavoring
puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ
indriyāṇi pramāthīni
hi
certainly
api
in spite of
kaunteya
O son of Kuntī
puruṣasya
of a man
vipaścitaḥ
full of discriminating knowledge
indriyāṇi
the senses
haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ
pramāthīni
agitating
haranti
throw
prasabham
by force
manaḥ
the mind .
Important Words
  • yatataḥ — of one who is striving
    Genitive of yatat — one making effort. Even the *one striving* is vulnerable. The verse acknowledges effort and then says: effort alone is not enough.
  • vipaścitaḥ — of the wise
    Genitive of vipaścit — discriminating, wise. Even the *wise and striving* are vulnerable. Two qualifications are stacked, and still the senses break through.
  • pramāthīni — churning, agitating
    From pra + √math — to churn, to crush by friction. The same root as the churning of the milk ocean. The senses *churn* the mind — they do not merely tempt; they grind.
  • haranti — they carry away
    From √hṛ — to seize, to abduct. Used in royal contexts for kidnapping. The senses *abduct* the mind. The image is criminal — the senses break in and steal.
  • prasabham — forcibly
    Adverb — *by force*. The abduction is not gentle persuasion. The verse closes with a violent word: the senses force the mind away. Voluntary willpower is not in this picture; help is needed.
The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Even an aspirant who is wise and actively striving is not safe: the senses, by their nature pramāthin (churning, violently agitating), can drag the mind away by force. The struggle is real even at advanced stages.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
An honest acknowledgement of the difficulty of sense-restraint, even for the practiced. Pramāthin is from √math ('to churn, agitate') — the senses are not merely tempting but actively destabilizing. The verse sets up 2.61's solution: anchor the mind in 'me'. This realism about sense-power makes the recommended remedy a matter of necessity, not piety.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे कौन्तेय! यततः अपि विपश्चितः पुरुषस्य प्रमाथीनि इन्द्रियाणि प्रसभम् मनः हरन्ति हि ।
he kaunteya! yatataḥ api vipaścitaḥ puruṣasya pramāthīni indriyāṇi prasabham manaḥ haranti hi |
O son of Kuntī, even for a discerning man who is striving, the agitating senses forcibly carry away the mind.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
यततः हि अपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभम् मनः ॥
yatataḥ hi api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ | indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabham manaḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
यततः yatataḥ √यत् pres. (present) part. gen.sg. (genitive singular)m., 'of one striving' of one endeavouring
हि hi ind. (indeclinable), emphatic indeed
अपि api ind. (indeclinable), 'even' even
कौन्तेय kaunteya कौन्तेय (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) O son of Kuntī
पुरुषस्य puruṣasya पुरुष (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of a man
विपश्चितः vipaścitaḥ विपश्चित् (adj.) gen.sg. (genitive singular)m., 'wise' of a wise one
इन्द्रियाणि indriyāṇi इन्द्रिय (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) the senses
प्रमाथीनि pramāthīni प्रमाथिन् (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)n., 'turbulent' turbulent, agitating
हरन्ति haranti √हृ pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice), 'carry off' carry away
प्रसभम् prasabham ind. (indeclinable), 'forcibly' forcibly
मनः manaḥ मनस् (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) the mind
Purport

There are many learned sages, philosophers and transcendentalists who try to conquer the senses, but in spite of their endeavors, even the greatest of them sometimes fall victim to material sense enjoyment due to the agitated mind. Even Viśvāmitra, a great sage and perfect yogī, was misled by Menakā into sex enjoyment, although the yogī was endeavoring for sense control with severe types of penance and yoga practice. And, of course, there are so many similar instances in the history of the world. Therefore, it is very difficult to control the mind and senses without being fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. Without engaging the mind in Kṛṣṇa, one cannot cease such material engagements. A practical example is given by Śrī Yāmunācārya, a great saint and devotee, who says: yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca “Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental humor, whenever I think of sex life with a woman, my face at once turns from it, and I spit at the thought.” Kṛṣṇa consciousness is such a transcendentally nice thing that automatically material enjoyment becomes distasteful. It is as if a hungry man had satisfied his hunger by a sufficient quantity of nutritious eatables. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa also conquered a great yogī, Durvāsā Muni, simply because his mind was engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness ( sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane ).

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
60. Even for the wise man who endeavors, O son of Kuntī, the agitating senses take away the mind by force.
Commentary

The effort at the stage of sādhana is very great, without power to turn back the senses completely at all times. Pramāthīni means “causing agitation.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
60. Even for the wise man who endeavors to control the senses, O son of Kuntī, the strong senses take away the mind by force.
Commentary

This verse speaks of the rarity of being such a sthita prajña, established in that knowledge of ātmā. For a man who is intent on conquering the senses, who can distinguish his real nature as ātmā from sense objects (vipaścitaḥ), the senses such as the ear, which act as agents or doers, take away the mind as if by force (prasabham). “Taking away” here means that the senses make the mind indulge in sense objects. “How do the senses make the mind indulge in sense objects if the person is situated with discriminating knowledge which opposes indulging in those sense objects?” “Because the senses are very strong (pramāthīni) they can suppress that knowledge. Therefore, the sthita prajña carefully protects his steadiness in jñāna from the senses, just as a person protects a great treasure from thieves. That is his sitting (sense control).”

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Translation
The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination (the jnani) who is endeavoring to control them.
Commentary

Krsna is telling Arjuna: "Don't give up your work! Don't become a Jnani, but perform your work in Buddhi‑yoga!

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Explains how one who is not Krishna Consciousness may easily falldown, It implies the

dangers of Arjuna’s plan to go to the forest, to practice Jnana & meditation, trying to avoid fighting and its

apparent sinful reaction.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
2.60 Hi, for; kaunteya, O son of Kunti; pramathini, the turbulent; indriyani, organs; prasabham, violently; haranti, snatch away; manah, the mind; vipascitah, of an intelligent; purusasya, person; api, even; yatatah, while he is striving diligently [Repeatedly being mindful of the evils that arise from sense-objects.] (or,) the words purusasya vipascitah (of an intelligent person) are to be connected with the remote word api (even). [The Commentator says that api may be construed either with yatatah or with vipascitah purusasya.-Tr.] Indeed, the organs confound a person who is inclined towards objects, and after confounding him, violently carry away his mind endowed with discriminating knoweldge, even when he is aware of this. Since this is so, therefore,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
2.60 Except by the experience of the self, the hankering for objects will not go away. When the hankering for the sense-objects does not go away, the senses of even a wise man, though he is ever striving to subdue them, become refractory, i.e., become violent and carry away perforce the mind. Thus, the subduing of the senses depends on the vision of the self, and the vision of the self depends on the subduing of the senses. Conseently, i.e., because of this mutual dependence, firm devotion to knowledge is difficult to achieve.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
2.60 Yattasyapi etc. For, the mind of that ascetic too is carried away by the sense-organs. Or, the expression yattasya api denotes 'even of one who exerts'. [So], it is but the mind that is to be subdued by a man of Yoga. Thus the second [estion] is decided.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
2.60 The turbulent senses, O Arjuna, do violently carry away the mind of a wise man though he be striving (to control them).
Commentary

2.60 यततः of the striving? हि indeed? अपि even? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya (son of Kunti)? पुरुषस्य of man? विपश्चितः (of the) wise? इन्द्रियाणि the senses? प्रमाथीनि turbulent? हरन्ति carry away? प्रसभम् violently? मनः the mind.Commentary The aspirant should first bring the senses under his control. The senses are like horses. If you keep the horses under your perfect control you can reach your destinaton safely. Turbulent horses will throw you down on the way. Even so the turbulent senses will hurl you down into the objects of the senses and you cannot reach your spiritual destination? viz.? Param Dhama (the supreme abode) or the abode of eternal peace and immortality or Moksha (final liberation). (Cf.III.33V.14).

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
2.60 For, O son of Kunti, the turbulent organs violently snatch away the mind of an intelligent person, even while he is striving diligently.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
2.60 O Arjuna! The mind of him, who is trying to conquer it, is forcibly carried away in spite of his efforts, by his tumultuous senses.
Related values & verses
Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Dana (Charity / Generosity)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Yajña (Sacrifice / Spirit of Offering)
Related verses
BG 3.34 BG 3.40 BG 6.26 SB 5.6.4 SB 7.15.40 SB 11.20.21 CC Madhya 24.143 CC Antya 6.220 CC Antya 20.43 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.4BRS 1.2.187
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The senses are so turbulent that they forcibly carry away even the mind of a discerning person — there is no automatic safety in spiritual experience.
Practical Applications
  • Do not assume past sādhana protects you from present sense storms; remain vigilant.
  • Build structures (early sleep, scheduled japa, association) that don't depend on willpower in the moment.
  • Take the senses seriously as adversaries deserving disciplined response, not casual handling.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'turbulent sense' has surprised me by overpowering me recently?
  • What new structure would protect me where willpower keeps failing?
Analogy

A horseman with the reins in his hands still loses the horses if a sudden noise sets them bolting — and reasonable horses too, not wild ones. The senses are pramāthin — *churners*, *seizers* — and they do not respect even the wise man's grip. The verse is a warning: do not be complacent in willpower alone.

Stories
Viśvāmitra and Menakā

Viśvāmitra, having achieved years of austerity and earned the title of brahmarṣi, was disturbed by the apsarā Menakā sent by Indra. Even his accumulated tapas did not stop the senses' churning — the sage who could create rival heavens lost his composure to a single sense-object.

The verse names exactly this danger. Yatataḥ hi api kaunteya: *even of one who is striving*. Viśvāmitra was striving; the senses still did pramāthin work on him. The remedy will come in the next verses: not striving alone, but mat-paraḥ — fixed on the Lord.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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