'Sense', through which one can 'know' and perform actions - the organ of which is the physical aspect of the sense, e.g., sight (eyes), hearing (ears), smelling (nose), etc. There are ten in total - the five gnãn-indriyas (cognitive senses) and the five karma-indriyas (conative senses), with the man often taken to be the 11th. By nature, they engage themselves in their respective vishays {Gadhada I-12.13} and have the complete knowledge of that vishay {Vartal-17.2}. In certain cases, it may seem that no distinction is made between the physical and subtle aspects, i.e., the senses and the sense organs are referred to by the same nouns - 'eyes', 'ears', 'nose', etc. However, they are not to be confused with the indriyas that form the subtle body, and which are quite distinct from the physical organs. When mentioned as the 'five indriyas', generally refers to the five gnãn-indriyas {Panchala-2.16; Gadhada II-2.4; Vartal-4.6}. See also: gnãn-indriya and karma-indriya.
the sense organs. Any one of the five organs of cognition ( which relate to the sensory apparatus pertaining to sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste ) or the five organs of action (the tongue, hands, feet, excretory organs and organs of generation through which we interact with the world).
