FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.20.41

కేదారేభ్యస్త్వపోఽగృహ్ణన్ కర్షకా ద‍ృఢసేతుభి: । యథా ప్రాణై: స్రవజ్జ్ఞానం తన్నిరోధేన యోగిన: ॥ ౪౧ ॥
kedārebhyas tv apo ’gṛhṇan
[kedaarebhyas tv apo ’grihnan]
karṣakā dṛḍha-setubhiḥ
[karshakaa dridha-setubhih]
yathā prāṇaiḥ sravaj jñānaṁ
[yathaa praanaih sravaj jnaanam]
tan-nirodhena yoginaḥ
[tan-nirodhena yoginah]
kedārebhyaḥ — from the flooded fields of rice paddy tu — and apaḥ — the water agṛhṇan — took karṣakāḥ — the farmers dṛḍha — strong setubhiḥ — with dikes yathā — as prāṇaiḥ — through the senses sravat — flowing out jñānam — consciousness tat — of those senses nirodhena — by the strict control yoginaḥ — yogīs. .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kedārebhyas tv apo ’gṛhṇan
kedārebhyaḥ
from the flooded fields of rice paddy
karṣakā dṛḍha-setubhiḥ
tu
and
yathā prāṇaiḥ sravaj jñānaṁ
apaḥ
the water
agṛhṇan
took
karṣakāḥ
the farmers
dṛḍha
strong
setubhiḥ
with dikes
yathā
as
prāṇaiḥ
through the senses
sravat
flowing out
jñānam
consciousness
tan-nirodhena yoginaḥ
tat
of those senses
nirodhena
by the strict control
yoginaḥ
yogīs. .
  • prāṇaiḥ-sravat — flowing out through the prāṇas
    Compound: prāṇa (life-breath) + sravat (flowing). Aṣṭāṅga-yoga reads the senses as channels through which jñāna leaks. Gauḍīyas note: bhakti redirects rather than seals — the flow becomes prīti toward Kṛṣṇa instead of grasping toward objects.
  • jñānam — consciousness, knowledge
    Here jñāna = the awareness-current, not philosophical knowledge. The yogī protects this current. Gauḍīyas distinguish levels of jñāna: this verse's jñāna is below the jñāna-amṛta of v. 36.
  • yoginaḥ — the yogīs
    Plural of yogin. The aṣṭāṅga-yogī specifically — distinct from the bhakti-yogī of Gītā 6.47. Gauḍīyas read this verse charitably: the technique is described, not endorsed as final.
  • dṛḍha-setubhiḥ — with firm dikes
    Compound: dṛḍha (firm) + setu (dike). Strong barriers. The same setu as v. 23 — but here positive, there negative. Vedic setus are precisely what dharma is.
  • nirodhena — by restraint
    Nirodha — the very word in Patañjali 1.2 (yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ). Gauḍīyas re-aim nirodha: not nirodha of vṛtti as such, but nirodha of vṛtti aimed elsewhere than Kṛṣṇa.
In the same way that the practitioners of yoga bring their senses under strict control to check their consciousness from flowing out through the agitated senses, the farmers erected strong mud banks to keep the water within their rice fields from draining out.

Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “In autumn, farmers save the water within the fields by building strong walls so that the water contained within the field cannot run out. There is hardly any hope for new rainfall; therefore they want to save whatever is in the field. Similarly, a person who is actually advanced in self-realization protects his energy by controlling the senses. It is advised that after the age of fifty one should retire from family life and conserve the energy of the body for utilization in the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless one is able to control the senses and engage them in the transcendental loving service of Mukunda, there is no possibility of salvation.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
In the same way that the practitioners of yoga bring their senses under strict control to check their consciousness from flowing out through the agitated senses, the farmers erected strong mud banks to keep the water within their rice fields from draining out.
Commentary

The farmers preserves the water flowing from the fields with dykes, as the yogi preserves his consciousness from flowing away due to distraction of the senses, but stopping up the senses. This is a positive comparison.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The farmers keep the water from flowing from the fields by making strong dykes, which had broken during the monsoon. The yogīs protect their knowledge which flows out through the gates of the agitated senses by withdrawing the senses.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)
Related verses

Farmers build firm dikes to keep field-water in — like yogīs building prāṇa-dikes to keep consciousness from spilling out through agitated senses. The verse's image is unusually technical: jñāna leaks through prāṇas; the yogī plugs the leak with disciplined breath. Gauḍīyas note: bhakti has its own dikes — service, association, śravaṇa, kīrtana — and they hold without violence.

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