Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 59

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः ।
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥

Transliteration

viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ .
rasavarjaṃ raso.apyasya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate ॥

Meaning

The objects of the senses fall away from the embodied one who abstains from them, but the taste for them remains. Even that taste falls away when he has seen the Supreme.

Word meanings

विषयाः – sense objects
विनिवर्तन्ते – turn away, fall away
निराहारस्य – of one who abstains (from feeding the senses)
देहिनः – of the embodied being
रसवर्जम् – except the taste, leaving the longing behind
रसः – taste, relish, subtle attachment
अपि – even
अस्य – his
परम् – the Supreme
दृष्ट्वा – having seen, having directly realised
निवर्तते – falls away, ceases

Anvaya (word order)

निराहारस्य देहिनः विषयाः रसवर्जं विनिवर्तन्ते; अस्य रसः अपि परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ।

Explanation

The previous verse spoke of withdrawing the senses from their objects. But a question arises: is restraining the senses enough? In this verse Krishna reveals a profound psychological truth. Outer restraint removes the objects, but the inner longing for them remains.

‘Nirahara’ does not simply mean one who fasts. Shankara explains that ‘ahara’ here means the taking in of objects through the senses. Form is the food of the eye, sound of the ear, flavour of the tongue. When someone stops consuming objects for any reason — a vow, illness, fear or spiritual discipline — the objects withdraw from him outwardly. A patient forbidden sweets is kept away from sweets, yet his tongue keeps longing at the memory of them. That is the meaning of ‘rasa-varjam’ — leaving the taste behind.

This ‘rasa’ is the real bondage — the subtle relish hidden in the mind, the memory of pleasure, the seed of craving. As long as the seed remains, it can sprout again the moment an opportunity arises. That is why many people slip suddenly even after years of restraint. Outer renunciation remains unripe so long as the inner taste survives.

How then does the taste disappear? Krishna answers, ‘param drishtva nivartate’ — on seeing the Supreme. When a higher joy is experienced, the pull of lower joys ends by itself. A child who has a diamond in his hand no longer cries for pieces of glass. For Shankara ‘param’ is the supreme reality, Brahman, and the knowledge ‘I am That’ destroys even the subtlest latent desire. Ramanuja says that the experience of the Self's true nature, far superior to sense pleasure, removes that taste.

The verse lays out a balanced path. Outer restraint is necessary — it is the first step, as 2.58 said. But it is not the final goal. Alongside it, a higher joy must be cultivated through meditation, devotion and knowledge. Merely saying ‘no’ is hard and temporary; discovering a greater ‘yes’ alone brings lasting freedom.

Context

In 2.58 Krishna used the image of the tortoise to describe withdrawing the senses. This verse explains that outer restraint does not remove the inner taste, which vanishes only through experience of the Supreme. In the next verse (2.60) Krishna warns that the senses are so turbulent that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a striving, discerning man.

Life lesson

A habit is not uprooted merely by suppressing it; seek a higher and deeper joy to take its place. When life finds a great meaning, small cravings fall away of themselves.

Key terms

Nirahara: one who abstains from feeding the senses with objects
Rasa: subtle relish for objects, lingering inner craving
Param: the Supreme — the highest reality, God or the Self