Verse 2.88 [Control of Sensual Desires]

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

इन्द्रियाणां विचरतां विषयेष्वपहारिषु ।
संयमे यत्नमातिष्ठेद् विद्वान् यन्तैव वाजिनाम् ॥ ८८ ॥

indriyāṇāṃ vicaratāṃ viṣayeṣvapahāriṣu |
saṃyame yatnamātiṣṭhed vidvān yantaiva vājinām || 88 ||

The wise man should put forth an effort to restrain his organs roaming among alluring objects; just as the driver restrains the horses.—(88)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

All that the teaching means is that “one should strive to restrain his organs”: the rest of the text is merely descriptive, up to the verse where we have the injunction regarding the Twilight Prayers (101).

‘Restrain’—means the avoiding of addiction to prohibited objects and the avoiding of excessive addiction to even those objects that are permitted. That the prohibited tilings should be avoided we learn from those prohibitions themselves: hence the present verse and the verses that follow should be taken as laying down the avoiding of over-addiction to even such things as are not prohibited.

This is what is meant by the expression—‘roaming a many objects,’—i.e., in course of their natural functioning.

‘Alluring.’—Things that attract, draw to themselves, overpower, the man, are called ‘alluring objects,’ those that captivate the mind. Roaming among these means ‘functioning among them in manifold ways.’ If the organs did not operate among them, what could even the most alluring objects do? Or, even if the organs were devoid of all restraint, if the objects themselves were repellant, it would he a very simple matter for the agent, to restrain himself. As a matter of fact, however, both are at fault (the objects are alluring and the organs are operative among them); hence it becomes necessary to put forth special effort, the organs being hard to control.

‘As the driver restrains the horses.’—‘Driver’ is the charioteer. Just as the charioteer puts forth special effort to coutrol the horses that are naturally restive, and are prone to run wild along the wrong way, and the horses become obedient to him,—in the same way one should curb the organs to his own will.—(88)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Bālambhaṭṭi (Vyāvahāra, p. 606).

Medhātithi (p. 116, 11. 11-12)—Pariśiṣṭorthavādaḥ āṣandhyopāsanavidhiḥ—i.e. upto verse 100, all this is mere Arthavāda. But on p. 110, he says that verse 97 contains a vidhi.

It is interesting to note that what Medhātithi has called Arthavāda, Hopkins calls ‘elaborate interpolation’ (note on verse 91).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama-Dharmasūtra, 3.9—‘One who behaves like this keeps the senses under control attains the regions of Brahman.’

Gautama-Dharmasūtra, 11.4.—‘Pure, with senses under control, equipped with fully qualified-aids.’

Kaṭha-Upaniṣad, 3.6.—‘He who is equipped with knowledge, with mind composed, has his senses under control; just as good horses are under ṭhe control of the charioteer.’

Bhagavadgītā, 2.67-68.—‘When the mind follows in the wake of the roaming sense-organs, it deprives him of his wisdom; just as the storm destroys the boat in water. Therefore that man whose sense-organs have been withdrawn from the objects of sense, has his wisdom firmly established.’