Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 33

Chapter 6 – Dhyana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

अर्जुन उवाच ।
योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन ।
एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ॥

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca .
yo.ayaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana .
etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvātsthitiṃ sthirām ॥

Meaning

Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, this yoga of equanimity that You have taught — because of the restlessness of the mind, I do not see how it can have a steady footing.

Word meanings

यः – which
अयम् – this
योगः – yoga
त्वया – by You
प्रोक्तः – taught
साम्येन – as equanimity
मधुसूदन – O slayer of the demon Madhu (Krishna)
एतस्य – of this
अहम् – I
न – not
पश्यामि – see
चञ्चलत्वात् – because of restlessness
स्थितिम् – footing, continuance
स्थिराम् – steady

Anvaya (word order)

अर्जुनः उवाच — मधुसूदन, यः अयं साम्येन योगः त्वया प्रोक्तः, एतस्य स्थिरां स्थितिं चञ्चलत्वात् अहं न पश्यामि ।

Explanation

Having heard Krishna's lofty teaching on meditation and equal vision, Arjuna raises a deeply honest and human question. He says: this yoga of equanimity you have described is beautiful, but I do not think it can be sustained, because the mind is restless.

Arjuna's question is every seeker's question. Hearing an ideal is one thing; living it is another. Seeing the Self in all, staying even in pleasure and pain, being steady like a lamp in a windless place — all this is inspiring to hear, but when we sit to meditate or are caught in life's turmoil, the mind will not listen to us at all. Arjuna does not hide his difficulty; he humbly places it before his teacher — the mark of a true disciple.

Arjuna addresses Krishna here as Madhusudana, slayer of the demon Madhu. There is a subtle hint in this: you who killed so great a demon, will you not show me how to subdue the demon of my own mind? The phrase sthiram sthitim matters: Arjuna's doubt is not whether a momentary taste of equanimity is possible, but how it can be made lasting.

Shankara notes that Arjuna names the restlessness of the mind as the chief obstacle to steadiness in the yoga of equanimity. The question gives Krishna the opportunity to teach, in the coming verses, the famous remedy of practice and dispassion.

Context

By 6.32 Krishna had completed the teaching on meditation and equal vision. Here Arjuna voices his doubt, which he elaborates in the next verse (6.34) — the mind is as hard to restrain as the wind. Krishna answers in 6.35–36.

Life lesson

Do not hesitate to admit your difficulties on the spiritual path. Asking honest questions and recognising your weaknesses is where progress begins. Only one who acknowledges a problem finds its solution.

Key terms

Samya yoga: the yoga founded on equanimity
Madhusudana: slayer of the demon Madhu — Krishna
Chanchalatva: restlessness of the mind