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Chapter 15 · The Yoga of the Supreme Person · 20 verses

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Soul & knowledgeChapter 15 · The Yoga of the Supreme Person
15.815.10

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 15.9

The jīva as Krishna’s eternal fragmental part

श्रोत्रं चक्षु: स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च ।

अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥ ९ ॥

śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca

rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca

adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ

viṣayān upasevate

Translation

The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Consciousness Shapes the Next Body

  1. 1In a new body, the soul receives senses grouped around the mind and enjoys the sense objects suited to that body.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that material qualities change our originally pure consciousness, leading to a corresponding body—not necessarily a human one.
  3. 3Cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is our real, pure consciousness.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 15, The Yoga of the Supreme Person: the jīva as krishna’s eternal fragmental part.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Discern the eternal self from the temporary.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: ātmā, jñāna.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 15.9 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to soul & knowledge?

Practice

Spend five minutes reflecting on what in you does not change.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 15 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 15.7The living being belongs to KrishnaBG 15.8The jīva as Krishna’s eternal fragmental partBG 2.13The self endures bodily changeBG 4.34The humility of real inquiry

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 15.9 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.