Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 4

Chapter 6 – Dhyana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मस्वनुषज्जते ।
सर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी योगारूढस्तदोच्यते ॥

Transliteration

yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasvanuṣajjate .
sarvasaṅkalpasaṃnyāsī yogārūḍhastadocyate ॥

Meaning

When a person is attached neither to the objects of the senses nor to actions, and has renounced all selfish intentions, he is then said to have ascended to yoga.

Word meanings

यदा – when
हि – indeed
न – not
इन्द्रियार्थेषु – in the objects of the senses
कर्मसु – in actions
अनुषज्जते – is attached
सर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी – the renouncer of all intentions
योगारूढः – established in yoga
तदा – then
उच्यते – is said

Anvaya (word order)

यदा हि (साधकः) न इन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मसु अनुषज्जते, तदा सर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी योगारूढः उच्यते ।

Explanation

The previous verse used the word yogarudha; here Krishna gives its marks. There are three tests: no attachment to sense objects, no attachment to actions, and the renunciation of all sankalpa.

The objects of the senses — sight, sound, taste, smell and touch — continue to exist in the world. The one established in yoga does not flee from them, but neither does he cling to them. Likewise, actions continue to happen through him, but the sense of 'I am the doer, this is mine, its result must come to me' is absent. Attachment is the bondage; the object or the action by itself is not.

The third and deepest test is the renunciation of all intentions. Attachment grows from sankalpa: first the mind imagines that something will bring happiness, then desire arises, then clinging follows. Shankara observes that sankalpa is the root of both desire and desire-driven action; when it is gone, attachment to objects and to works has nothing left to stand on.

The state of yogarudha is therefore not an outward title but an inner freedom in which nothing in the world can drag the mind away.

Context

Verse 6.3 distinguished the climber from the one who has arrived. This verse describes the one who has arrived. Next, in 6.5–6, Krishna teaches that this ascent depends on one's own effort — a person is his own friend or his own enemy.

Life lesson

Test your progress honestly: do objects and tasks pull you, or can you handle them with ease? The fewer your cravings and mental projections, the greater your freedom and peace.

Key terms

Indriyartha: objects of the senses
Anushanga: attachment, clinging
Sarva-sankalpa-sannyasa: complete renunciation of desire-driven intentions