15.9 Presiding over the senses Krishna speaks

श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च
अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते

śhrotraṁ chakṣhuḥ sparśhanaṁ cha rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva cha
adhiṣhṭhāya manaśh chāyaṁ viṣhayān upasevate

Presiding over hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell, and over the mind, he experiences the objects of sense.

Explanation

Presiding, and experiencing.

Five senses and the mind are listed, and the fragment of 15.7 is placed above them as what uses them.

The verb matters: it experiences the objects of sense. This is not a detached witness that has nothing to do with the world. The Gita's highest principle is described here as the one actually tasting the food.

Word by word

śhrotram: ears
chakṣhuḥ: eyes
sparśhanam: the sense of touch
cha: and
rasanam: tongue
ghrāṇam: nose
eva: also
cha: and
adhiṣhṭhāya: grouped around
manaḥ: mind
cha: also
ayam: they
viṣhayān: sense objects
upasevate: savors