Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 42
Bhagavad Gītā 3.42: What is higher
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः ।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥
indriyāṇi parāṇyāhurindriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ
manasastu parā buddhiryo buddheḥ paratastu saḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
The senses, they say, are superior to the body; superior to the senses is the mind; superior to the mind is the intellect; and what is beyond the intellect is He, the Self. The ladder echoes Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.10: since desire lives in the senses, mind and intellect (3.40), the one who stands above all three can master it.
For children
Krishna says: “Your eyes and ears are strong. Your mind is stronger. Your understanding is stronger still. And the real you is the strongest of all!”
To defeat desire (3.40–3.41), Kṛṣṇa shows what stands above the places where it hides.
Word by word
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुर् — The senses are great, it is said
- indriya: sense
- para: higher, beyond
- āhuḥ: they say
इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः — but greater than the senses is the mind
- indriyebhyaḥ: than the senses
- manas: mind
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर् — greater than the mind is understanding
- manasaḥ: than the mind
- tu: and
- buddhi: intellect, understanding
यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः — and beyond understanding is the Self
- yaḥ: who
- buddheḥ: than the intellect
- paratas: beyond
- saḥ: he, that (the Self)
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.