Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 33
धृत्या यया धारयते मनःप्राणेन्द्रियक्रियाः।योगेनाव्यभिचारिण्या धृतिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी।।
dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ
yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
also searched as "dhritya yaya dharayate manah pranendriya kriyah"
Translation
That fortitude, by which one maintains the unwavering activities of the mind and vital force, and these sense-organs, through yoga—that fortitude is of the nature of sattva.
Vāṇi's rendering
The resolve that holds mind, breath, and senses steady through unswerving practice — that resolve is clear.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| धृत्याdhṛtyā | by that resolve, that steady holding-on |
| ययाyayā | by which |
| धारयतेdhārayate | one holds, sustains, keeps in place |
| मनःप्राणेन्द्रियक्रियाःmanaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ | the workings of mind, breath, and the senses |
| योगेनyogena | through practice, through yoga |
| अव्यभिचारिण्याavyabhicāriṇyā | unswerving, never straying from its aim (joined to yogena by sandhi) |
| धृतिःdhṛtiḥ | resolve, firmness |
| साsā | that |
| पार्थpārtha | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| सात्त्विकीsāttvikī | clear, of the nature of sattva |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 33 mean?
It describes the clearest kind of resolve: the steadiness that keeps mind, breath, and senses working in one direction instead of pulling apart. What makes it sāttvikī is not intensity but constancy — avyabhicāriṇī, never straying. Krishna is pointing to resolve that survives the ordinary day, not only the dramatic one.
What is the meaning of dhritya yaya dharayate manah pranendriya kriyah?
Dhṛti is the grip that holds a life together. Here it holds three layers at once — thought, breath, and the senses — and it holds them through yoga, through repeated practice. The verse quietly says your steadiness is built, not born. Each return to practice is the holding.
How is sattvic resolve different from stubbornness?
Stubbornness grips one thing and ignores everything else. Sāttvikī dhṛti holds the whole instrument steady — mind, breath, senses together — and it holds without strain. Krishna's next verses describe resolve driven by craving and resolve that clings to sleep and sorrow. Clear resolve has no such fuel; it simply continues.
Why does Krishna mention breath along with mind and senses?
Because they move together. When the mind scatters, the breath shortens; when the senses run, the breath follows. Krishna names the breath as the middle link, the place where steadiness can actually be taken hold of. Slow the breath and you have already begun to hold the other two.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Three things get held here, and the order matters. Mind first, then breath, then the senses — Krishna names the chain by which a resolve either stands or scatters. Notice what is absent: no clenching, no gritted teeth. The word is yoga, unswerving practice, and it does the holding. Arjuna has no shortage of will; what he lacks is a will that does not change its mind every hour. Clear resolve is not the loud vow. It is the same small thing done again on the day you do not feel like it. Tomorrow morning, that is where yours will be tested.