Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 6, Verse 34: Krishna to ArjunaDhyāna-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 6.34Chapter 6 · Dhyāna-Yoga · KrishnaArjuna · anuṣṭubh
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम्
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्
cañcalaṃcañcala(3 verses)nominative neuter singular noununsteady, fickle, restless hihi(70 verses)for, indeed, because (particle) manaḥmanas(41 verses)nominative neuter singular nounmind (lower mind), the inner organ of perception kṛṣṇakṛṣṇa(14 verses)vocative masculine singular nounKṛṣṇa; black, darkattested in commentariesadvaitaइति कृष्यतेः विलेखनार्थस्य रूपम् pramāthipramāthin(2 verses)nominative neuter singular nounagitating, churning (from pra- + √math + -in)attested in commentariesadvaitaच प्रमथनशीलम् प्रमथ्नाति शरीरम् इन्द्रियाणिviśiṣṭādvaitaप्रमथनशीलम्bhaktiप्रमथनशीलं देहेन्द्रियक्षोभकमित्यर्थःadvaita-bhaktiशरीरमिन्द्रियाणि balabalavat(3 verses)nominative neuter singular noun(bala + -vat: strength)vad dṛḍhamdṛḍha(5 verses)nominative neuter singular nounfirm, fixed (past participle of √dṛṃh)attested in commentariesviśiṣṭādvaitaअन्यत्र चरति
tasytad(305 verses)genitive neuter singular nounthat (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronounattested in commentariesadvaitaसंबुद्धिःviśiṣṭādvaitaस्वाभ्यस्तविषयेषुbhaktiमनसोऽपि निग्रहं निरोधं सुदुष्करं सर्वथा कर्तुमशक्यं मन्येadvaita-bhaktiनिवारणं जीवन्मुक्तिरित्युच्यतेāhaṃ nigrahaṃmad(383 verses)nominative singular nounI, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) manye√man(25 verses)present indicative 1st person singular verbto think, regard, consider (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaवायोरिव यथा वायोः दुष्करो निग्रहः ततोऽपि दुष्करं मन्ये इत्यभिप्रायःviśiṣṭādvaita। मनोनिग्रहोपायो वक्तव्य इत्यभिप्रायः।advaita-bhaktiवायोरिव vāyovāyu(6 verses)genitive masculine singular nounwind; the wind-god Vāyur ivaiva(17 verses)like, as if susu(11 verses)good, well; auspicious prefixduṣkaramduṣkaraaccusative neuter singular nounhard to do (dus- + kara)
spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip
meaning

The mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, and stubborn, Krishna; I think restraining it is as difficult as restraining the wind.

Bhāṣyakāra purports

  • Śaṅkaraadvaita

    The mind (manas) is by nature cañcala (restless) — not merely unstable but actively pramāthin (an aggressor that seizes and subjugates body and sense-organs). Śaṅkara adds that it is balaval (potent, not restrainable by any means) and dṛḍha (hard as a thorn-rope, indivisible like a tāntanī-serpent). Therefore Arjuna declares nigraha (absolute cessation) of such a mind to be suduṣkara (exceedingly difficult) — as impossible as imprisoning wind in the sky.

    divergence: Śaṅkara: 'pramathyaśīlam, deham indriyāṇi ca vikṣipat sat paravasīkaroti … dṛḍhaṃ tantunāgavat acchedyam' — the mind grasps and subjugates, and is impenetrable like a thorn-snake.

  • Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

    Even in objects long rehearsed (anavarata-abhyasta-viṣayeṣu), the mind cannot be held in one place by the puruṣa's own effort — it forcibly (balāt) seizes him and wanders elsewhere. Rāmānuja compares restraining the mind toward an object contrary to its conditioning to trying to stop a great wind (mahāvāta) with a fan — it is suduṣkara because the mind's svabhāva is misdirection, not quiescence.

    divergence: Rāmānuja: 'tad-viparītākārātmani sthāpayituṃ nigrahāṃ pratikūla-gateḥ mahāvātasya vyajanādinā iva suduṣkaram' — restraint in a direction contrary to the mind's current is like pushing back a great wind with a fan.

  • Madhvadvaita

    Madhva grounds Arjuna's complaint in Vyāsa's own Yoga-scripture: because the mind is cañcala (unstable), yoga's steadiness (sthiti) cannot arise without abhyāsa (practice) and vairāgya (dispassion) — of that there is no doubt (na saṃśayaḥ). The difficulty of nigraha is thus doctrinally confirmed by śāstra-citation, not merely by Arjuna's experience.

    divergence: Madhva cites Vyāsayoga: 'manasaś-cañcalatvād-dhi sthitir-yogasya vai sthirā / vinābhyāsān-na śakyā syād-vairāgyād-vā na saṃśayaḥ' — without practice and dispassion, stable yoga is impossible.

  • Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

    Arjuna perceives that the yoga of sama (equanimity) described by Kṛṣṇa is impossible precisely because the mind is cañcala (restless by nature). Vallabha glosses the wind-simile spatially: just as restraining wind that churns in open sky (ākāśe dhodhūyamānasya) into a pot is impossible, so too the uncontainable mind cannot be dammed. The verse thus names the failure-point of all autonomous sādhana, making Puṣṭi-mārga's prasāda (divine grace) the only viable ground.

    divergence: Vallabha: 'yathākāśe dodhūyamānasya vāyor-ghaṭādiṣu nirodho duṣkaras-tadvat' — restraining wind churning in the sky into a vessel is as impossible as restraining such a mind.

  • Śrīdharabhakti

    Śrīdhara enumerates four qualities that make the mind ungovernable: cañcala (restless by inherent nature), pramāthin (agitator of body and sense-organs), balaval (not conquerable even by deliberate reasoning), and dṛḍha (impenetrable, bound fast by viṣaya-vāsanā). Restraining it entirely — as one cannot stop wind from churning in the sky into a jar — is sarvathaiva aśakya (wholly impossible).

    divergence: Śrīdhara: 'pramāthi pramathana-śīlaṃ dehendriya-kṣobhakam … dṛḍhaṃ viṣaya-vāsanānubadhhatayā durbhedam … tathā tasya manaso nigrahaṃ suduṣkaraṃ sarvathaiva kartumaśakyaṃ manye'.

  • Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

    Madhusūdana begins with the word 'Kṛṣṇa' itself as a signal: by addressing the Lord as kṛṣ (one who draws away the sins of devotees), Arjuna implicitly appeals to the only power that can restrain the unrestrainable — thus the very name is a petition. He then glosses pramāthin as that which makes body and sense-organs helpless (vivasha-kara), balaval as that which cannot be turned away by any upāya, and dṛḍha as a tāntanā-pāśa (a coiled serpentine snare). Even after jñāna arises, prārabdha-karma sustains the citta's oscillations; therefore yoga-nigraha of mind in the full sense is impossible even for a jñānin still bound by prārabdha.

    divergence: Madhusūdana: 'yasyāḥ saṃpādanena sa yogī paramo mataḥ … prārabdhakarmabhogāya jīvataḥ puruṣasya … citta-cāñcalye yogena tan-nivāraṇam-aśakyam-ahaṃ svabodhād-eva manye'.

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