Chapter XV · Śloka 9
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च
रसनं घ्राणमेव च ।
अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं
विषयानुपसेवते ॥
रसनं घ्राणमेव च ।
अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं
विषयानुपसेवते ॥
śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ ca
rasanaṃ ghrāṇam eva ca |
adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṃ
viṣayān upasevate ||
rasanaṃ ghrāṇam eva ca |
adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṃ
viṣayān upasevate ||
Presiding over hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, as well as the mind, this soul experiences the objects of the senses.
The soul is the silent master behind all sensory perception — it is because of the soul's presence that the ear hears, the eye sees, and the mind cognizes. Yet when ignorant of its own nature, the soul mistakes sensory experience for its own reality.