Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 15, Verse 11
यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम्।यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः।।
yatanto yoginaś cainaṁ paśyanty ātmany avasthitam
yatanto ‘py akṛtātmāno nainaṁ paśyanty acetasaḥ
also searched as "yatanto yoginashchainam pashyantyatmanyavasthitam"
Translation
The striving yogis perceive it established in themselves. But, though striving, those of unrefined minds, devoid of intelligence, do not perceive it.
Vāṇi's rendering
Yogis who strive see the self standing within. The unripened strive too — and see nothing.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यतन्तःyatantaḥ | striving, making effort (appears as yatanto by sandhi) |
| योगिनःyoginaḥ | the yogis, those in disciplined practice |
| चca | and (joined in cainaṁ) |
| एनम्enam | this one, him — the self within |
| पश्यन्तिpaśyanti | they see, they perceive (paśyanty before a vowel) |
| आत्मनिātmani | in themselves, within (ātmany before a vowel) |
| अवस्थितम्avasthitam | established, standing, seated firmly |
| यतन्तःyatantaḥ | striving — the same word, said again of the others |
| अपिapi | even, though (elided to 'py) |
| अकृतात्मानःakṛta-ātmānaḥ | those whose inner being is unmade, unripened, unpurified |
| नna | not (joined in nainaṁ) |
| एनम्enam | this one, him |
| पश्यन्तिpaśyanti | they see |
| अचेतसःacetasaḥ | the unawake, those without discernment |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 11 mean?
It means effort alone does not decide the outcome. Krishna says yogis who strive find the self already established within them, while those whose inner nature is still unmade strive just as hard and perceive nothing. The difference is not intensity of practice but the ripeness of the one practising.
What does yatanto yoginashchainam pashyantyatmanyavasthitam teach?
That the self is not fetched from far away — it is avasthitam, already standing within. The yogi's striving does not create it; the striving clears the field so it can be noticed. What you are looking for is not absent. Something in the looking is unquiet.
Who are the akrtatmanah, the unripened, in this verse?
Not the wicked and not the idle. They are the ones with untrained inner ground — senses ungathered, mind unsettled, discernment asleep. Krishna calls them acetasaḥ. They can keep a discipline for years and still see nothing, because the instrument they are looking through has never been steadied.
Why do sincere seekers sometimes feel nothing changes?
Because sincerity is not the same as readiness, and the Gītā refuses to pretend otherwise. Practice that leaves the inner life untouched produces motion without sight. The remedy is not more force. It is quieting — until what has been standing within all along becomes audible to you.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Both groups strive. That is the sting of this verse. Krishna does not divide the world into the diligent and the lazy — he divides the diligent from the diligent. Effort is not the variable. What differs is whether the one striving has been ripened: senses gathered, mind quieted, the noise turned down enough for something quiet to register. The unripened look hard and see nothing, and conclude there is nothing to see. Arjuna is being told that his sincerity is not in question — his readiness is. Before you ask why you have not seen, ask what in you is still loud.