Upanishads · Kaṭha 3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
यस् तु विज्ञानवान् भवति युक्तेन मनसा सदा ।
तस्येन्द्रियाणि वश्यानि सदश्वा इव सारथेः
Transliteration (IAST)
yas tu vijñānavān bhavati yuktena manasā sadā /
tasyendriyāṇi vaśyāni sadaśvā iva sāratheḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यःyaḥwho; the one who
तुtusurely; however
विज्ञानवान्vijñānavānpossessed of discernment (vijñāna-vat); the one who comprehends; with clear knowledge
भवतिbhavatiis; becomes
युक्तेनyuktenayoked (yukta — 'harnessed'); bridled; concentrated
मनसाmanasāwith the mind; with the mind
सदाsadāalways; constantly
तस्यtasyait; his
इन्द्रियाणिindriyāṇithe senses; the sense-organs
वश्यानिvaśyānithey are controllable (vaśya); obedient; tractable
सदश्वाःsadaśvāḥgood horses (sat-aśva); well-trained steeds; noble horses
इवivahow; as it were
सारथेःsāratheḥof the charioteer; for the one who drives
Translation
But he who has discernment, whose mind is always collected — his senses are controllable, like good horses for a charioteer.
Version
4f9f5cc1257f · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second scenario — a mirror image, word for word, with the sign reversed: vijñānavān — a discerning intellect on the driver's seat; yuktena manasā — a mind that is "harnessed" (yukta — the very word from which yoga comes); and the senses vaśyāni — "controllable", sadaśvā iva — "like good horses".
It matters that the horses are the same. The Upaniṣad does not order the team to be slaughtered: the bridled senses are not killed — they are good (sat), strong and swift as before, but their strength now draws toward the goal. Spiritual life is not the amputation of the senses but their education: an eye trained to see the sacred, an ear taught to hear the truth, are the soul's best allies; the same horses that ran the chariot away will bring it home.
The difference between ruin and journey, then, is not in the composition of the team — everyone's is the same — but in one thing: whether the driver's seat is occupied. Constancy is stressed twice: sadā — "always": the reins are held not in fits but unbrokenly; governing is not an event but a state. Where both chariots arrive, the next two verses will say.