yāvan mano rajasā pūruṣasya

yāvan mano rajasā pūruṣasya

sattvena vā tamasā vānuruddham

cetobhir ākūtibhir ātanoti

niraṅkuśaṁ kuśalaṁ cetaraṁ vā

As long as a man’s mind is bound up by rajas, sattva or tamas, the mind, like an uncontrolled mad elephant, continues to engage that person in dharma or adharma using the knowledge senses and action senses.

“Why is it that generally, even though enlightened by the devotees, all men engage in material happiness?” As long as mind is bound by rajas, sattva or tamas, the mind like an uncontrolled mad elephant, engages a saintly person in dharma (kuśalam) or adharma (itaram), by the knowledge senses (cetobhiḥ) and the actions senses (ākūtibhiḥ). By force, the mind with its guṇas, destroying discrimination, engages in pious or sinful actions. What fault is there in the human being for this?

 

|| 5.11.5 ||

sa vāsanātmā viṣayoparakto

guṇa-pravāho vikṛtaḥ ṣoḍaśātmā

bibhrat pṛthaṅ-nāmabhi rūpa-bhedam

antar-bahiṣṭvaṁ ca purais tanoti

The mind, the chief among the sixteen elements, endowed with pious and sinful impressions, attached to sense objects, agitated by the guṇas, transformed by emotions, and supporting different forms through acceptance of different bodies, extends itself higher and lower positions with different names.

The mind (ātmā) endowed with impressions of piety and sin, contaminated with sense objects, agitated by the guṇas, transformed by the lust and other emotions, the chief element among the sixteen, accepting different forms such as devatā, animal or human, higher or lower, through bodies (puraiḥ), manifests itself with various names. The sandhi should be nāmabhī rupa-bhedam. The short form nāmabhi is poetic license.

 

|| 5.11.6 ||

duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ vyatiriktaṁ ca tīvraṁ