Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 61
तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः।
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।
tāni sarvāṇi sanyamya yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
also searched as "tani sarvani sanyamya yukta asita matparah"
Translation
Having controlled all the senses, let him remain in contemplation, regarding Me as supreme; for his knowledge is firmly established when his senses are under control.
Vāṇi's rendering
Rein them all in and sit steady, intent on me. Master the senses, and wisdom stands unshaken.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तानिtāni | those — the senses just spoken of |
| सर्वाणिsarvāṇi | all of them, without exception |
| संयम्यsaṁyamya | having reined in, drawn together and held |
| युक्तःyuktaḥ | joined, collected, steady (sandhi: yuktaḥ + āsīta becomes yukta āsīta) |
| आसीतāsīta | let him sit, let him remain |
| मत्परःmat-paraḥ | with me as the highest, intent on me |
| वशेvaśe | under command, in hand |
| हिhi | for, indeed |
| यस्यyasya | of whom (sandhi: yasya + indriyāṇi becomes yasyendriyāṇi) |
| इन्द्रियाणिindriyāṇi | the senses |
| तस्यtasya | of that one |
| प्रज्ञाprajñā | wisdom, the settled seeing |
| प्रतिष्ठिताpratiṣṭhitā | firmly established, standing unshaken |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 61 mean?
It means restraint needs a direction. Krishna asks for the senses to be reined in and the seat to be steady — but the weight falls on mat-paraḥ, intent on me. Held down and pointed nowhere, the senses return to their old roads. Held and pointed at Krishna, they settle, and wisdom stands unshaken.
What is the meaning of tani sarvani sanyamya yukta asita matparah?
Rein them all in — every sense, not the convenient ones — and sit collected, with Krishna as your highest. Saṁyamya is the gathering of scattered horses into one hand. Āsīta is simply to remain there. The verse asks for no heroics, only for the holding to continue with something worth holding toward.
Why does Krishna say to focus on him instead of just controlling the senses?
Because suppression is exhausting and temporary. The previous verse admitted that senses drag away even a wise man doing his best. Krishna does not answer with more force; he answers with an anchor. Attention leaves an object only for a better one. He offers himself as that better one.
How do I know if my wisdom is steady?
Krishna gives a plain test: whose senses are in hand, that one's prajñā stands. Not whose thoughts are lofty, not whose speech is calm. Watch where you go when nothing requires you to go anywhere. Steadiness shows itself in unsupervised hours, not in resolutions made at dawn.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Sitting still is not the instruction. Krishna has just said the senses carry off even a striving man, so restraint alone is not enough; a mind held down without somewhere to rest will find its way back to what it was denied. So he adds two small words: mat-paraḥ, intent on me. The senses are not conquered by pressure but by preference. Something must be more interesting than the thing you are refusing. Arjuna is not asked to want less; he is asked to want elsewhere. Check what your attention returns to when you stop supervising it. That, and not your resolve, is your master.