SanskritGita shlokas: mastering the mind
The sixth chapter of the Gita is about meditation and the training of the mind, and it is one of the most practical parts of the book. It begins from a striking idea: you are your own best friend and your own worst enemy, depending on whether you have mastered yourself.
The chapter then gives everyday advice. Eat, sleep, work and rest in measure (6.17). A trained mind is like a lamp where no wind blows (6.19). And when Arjuna objects, honestly, that the mind is as hard to hold as the wind (6.34), the reply does not deny it. It gives the method in two words: practice and dispassion (6.35). Students preparing for examinations have always found these verses speak to them.
The Sanskrit text is as transcribed on Sanskrit Wikisource (copied by program on 12 November 2026), and has not yet been compared with a printed edition; please check before reciting or printing. The meanings and notes are our own plain rendering. See About.
Bhagavad Gita 6.5
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
uddharedātmanātmānam nātmānamavasādayet.
ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanah.
Hindiमनुष्य अपने द्वारा अपना उद्धार करे और अपने को नीचे न गिराए, क्योंकि मनुष्य आप ही अपना मित्र है और आप ही अपना शत्रु है।
EnglishLet a person raise the self by the self, and not let the self sink. For the self alone is the friend of the self, and the self alone is its enemy.
NoteA verse of self-reliance: nobody else can lift you, and nobody else can pull you down. The word "atman" appears seven times in two lines, in different cases, which makes it a favourite of grammar teachers.
Bhagavad Gita 6.6
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः ।
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ॥
bandhurātmātmanastasya yenātmaivātmanā jitah.
anātmanastu shatrutve vartetātmaiva shatruvat.
Hindiजिसने अपने आप को जीत लिया है, उसके लिए उसका अपना आप मित्र है। पर जिसने अपने को नहीं जीता, उसका अपना आप ही शत्रु की तरह बरताव करता है।
EnglishFor one who has conquered the self by the self, the self is a friend. But for one who has not, the very self acts as an enemy.
NoteIt completes the thought of the verse before it: the mind that is mastered helps; the mind that is not mastered harms.
Bhagavad Gita 6.17
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥
yuktāhāravihārasya yuktacheshtasya karmasu.
yuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duhkhahā.
Hindiजिसका आहार और विहार संतुलित है, जिसकी कर्मों में चेष्टा संतुलित है, और जिसका सोना-जागना संतुलित है, उसके लिए योग दुखों का नाश करने वाला होता है।
EnglishFor one who is moderate in food and recreation, moderate in effort at work, and moderate in sleep and waking, yoga becomes the destroyer of sorrow.
NoteThe Gita's rule of balance. The word "yukta", measured or balanced, is repeated three times. The verse before it says that yoga is not for one who eats too much or too little, or sleeps too much or too little.
Bhagavad Gita 6.19
यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता ।
योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः ॥
yathā dīpo nivātastho nengate sopamā smritā.
yogino yatachittasya yunjato yogamātmanah.
Hindiजैसे हवा से रहित स्थान में रखा दीपक नहीं काँपता, वही उपमा उस योगी के वश में किए हुए चित्त की दी गई है जो आत्मा के ध्यान में लगा है।
EnglishAs a lamp in a windless place does not flicker: that is the likeness used for the disciplined mind of a yogi practising union with the self.
NoteThe lamp that does not flicker is one of the most often quoted images of concentration.
Bhagavad Gita 6.34
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् ।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
chanchalam hi manah krishna pramāthi balavaddridham.
tasyāham nigraham manye vāyoriva sudushkaram.
Hindiहे कृष्ण, यह मन बड़ा चंचल, मथ डालने वाला, बलवान और हठी है। मुझे इसे वश में करना वायु को रोकने जैसा अत्यंत कठिन लगता है।
EnglishThe mind is restless, O Krishna, turbulent, strong and stubborn. I think it as hard to control as the wind.
NoteHere Arjuna speaks, with an objection every reader shares. The next verse is the reply.
Bhagavad Gita 6.35
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् ।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
asamshayam mahābāho mano durnigraham chalam.
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyena cha grihyate.
Hindiहे महाबाहो, इसमें संदेह नहीं कि मन चंचल है और कठिनाई से वश में आता है। पर हे कुंतीपुत्र, यह अभ्यास और वैराग्य से वश में किया जाता है।
EnglishWithout doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is restless and hard to restrain. But by practice, O son of Kunti, and by dispassion, it is held.
NoteThe answer in two words: "abhyasa" (steady practice) and "vairagya" (dispassion, letting go). The same pair is given in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra.
How to study these verses
Read the Sanskrit aloud first, slowly, using the roman line only if you need it. Then read the meaning, and go back to the Sanskrit to see which words carry it. To understand the verse word by word, follow the four steps in how to read a shloka; the case endings and the small unchanging words will do most of the work. Learning one verse a week by heart is a good pace.