Verse 3.41

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 3.41:

तस्मात् त्वम् इन्द्रियाण्य् आदौ नियम्य भरतर्षभ ।
पाप्मानं प्रजहि ह्य् एनं ज्ञान-विज्ञान-नाशनम् ॥ ४१ ॥

tasmāt tvam indriyāṇy ādau niyamya bharatarṣabha |
pāpmānaṃ prajahi hy enaṃ jñāna-vijñāna-nāśanam || 41 ||

tasmāt–therefore; tvam–you; indriyāṇi–the senses; ādau–first of all; niyamya–by regulating; bharata-ṛṣabha–O Arjuna, best of the descendants of Bharata; pāpmānam–evil; prajahi–you must destroy; hi–certainly; enam–this; jñāna–of knowledge; vijñāna–of realization (of Me); nāśanam–destroyer.

Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the descendants of Bharata, in the very beginning of your spiritual life, control your senses in order to completely slay this embodiment of evil (lust), which is the destroyer of both wisdom (jñāna) and realization of Me (vijñāna).

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

By conquering the place where the enemy has taken shelter, the enemy is conquered. This is the strategy. It is progressively more difficult to control the senses, the mind and the intelligence, which are the seats of kāma, the desire to enjoy. It is very difficult to control the senses, but they are easier to control than the mind and intelligence. “Therefore, first conquer your senses.” Śrī Bhagavān speaks this verse beginning with the word tasmāt, just to explain this point. Although the mind, which is very difficult to control, runs after enjoying another’s wife and wealth, you should understand what is happening;this is only the work of the senses, such as the eyes, ears, hands and legs. One should control these senses by not allowing them to pursue their respective objects. Pāpmānam means ‘to give up this ferocious desire to enjoy’. In this way, if a person gradually controls his senses, his mind will also become free from lust in due course of time.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Assisted by the senses, this powerful lust uses the ropes of delusion to bind the jīvas who are averse to Śrī Bhagavān. Therefore, it is imperative from the outset to control the senses such as the eyes. When the external senses are thus controlled, the mind, whose function is saṅkalpa (decision, or determination) and vikalpa (indecision, or doubt), will also be controlled.

Śrī Bhagavān also spoke thus to Uddhava:

viṣayendriya-saṃyogān manaḥ kṣubhyati nānyathā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.26.22)

The mind becomes restless only when the senses come in contact with the sense objects, not otherwise.

asamprayuñjataḥ prāṇān śāmyati stimitaṃ manaḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.26.23)

Therefore, the mind of a person who has control over his senses becomes stable and peaceful.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “Therefore, O best of the descendants of Bharata, by first controlling the senses and mind, conquer this extremely formidable lust, which destroys both knowledge and realization of Me. Destroying lust, which is a distortion of pure love of God (prema), reinstate yourself in your own constitutional nature by taking shelter of prema. The first commendable duty of a conditioned soul is to follow the principles of genuine renunciation and to pursue one’s prescribed duties. Thus, by gradually attaining the stage of sādhana-bhakti, he should perform sādhana to attain prema-bhakti. Unalloyed devotion is attained by My mercy or by the mercy of My devotee. It is very rare and some cases, it manifests without any cause.”