Verse 15.9

श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च ।

अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥

15.9

Transliteration

śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ ca rasanaṃ ghrāṇameva ca |

adhiṣṭhāya manaścāyaṃ viṣayānupasevate ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste and smell, as well as the mind, it enjoys the objects of the senses.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

ear
eye
touch
and
taste
smell
also
and

presiding over
mind
and
this
sense objects
enjoys

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

This verse names the instruments through which the indwelling self meets the world: ear, eye, skin, tongue and nose, along with the mind. Resting on these, it experiences sense objects. The description is straightforward, but it matters for the chapter's argument. Experience happens through faculties that belong to nature, while the one who experiences stands behind them. That distinction prepares for the next verses, which ask why so few people actually notice this presence within themselves.