Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 27
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ।।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ।।
sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyānś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau
also searched as "sparshan kritva bahir bahyansh chakshush chaivantare bhruvoh"
Translation
Shutting off outward contacts, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, realizing inward and outward breaths moving in the nostrils;
Vāṇi's rendering
Shut the world's touches out, rest the gaze between the brows, even the breath's coming and going.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| स्पर्शान्sparśān | the touches, the contacts of the senses with their objects |
| कृत्वाkṛtvā | having made, having placed |
| बहिःbahiḥ | outside, shut out |
| बाह्यान्bāhyān | external, belonging to the outer world |
| चक्षुःcakṣuḥ | the eye, the gaze |
| चca | and |
| एवeva | indeed, just (joined by sandhi in caivāntare) |
| अन्तरेantare | in the middle, in between |
| भ्रुवोःbhruvoḥ | of the two eyebrows |
| प्राणprāṇa | the outgoing breath |
| अपानौapānau | and the incoming breath (the pair; sandhi with prāṇa) |
| समौsamau | equal, evened, balanced |
| कृत्वाkṛtvā | having made |
| नासाnāsā | nostril |
| अभ्यन्तरabhyantara | within, inside (sandhi with nāsā) |
| चारिणौcāriṇau | the two that move, coursing |
| यतyata | restrained, held steady |
| इन्द्रियindriya | the senses |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind |
| बुद्धिःbuddhiḥ | the discerning intelligence |
| मुनिःmuniḥ | the silent one, the sage |
| मोक्षmokṣa | freedom, release |
| परायणःparāyaṇaḥ | having as the one aim, wholly bent upon |
| विगतvigata | gone away, fallen off |
| इच्छाicchā | wanting, desire |
| भयbhaya | fear |
| क्रोधःkrodhaḥ | anger |
| यःyaḥ | who |
| सदाsadā | always |
| मुक्तःmuktaḥ | free, released |
| एवeva | verily, already |
| सःsaḥ | he, that one |
Frequently asked
What does it mean to shut out the external contacts in Bhagavad Gita 5.27?
It means withdrawing attention from the stream of sights, sounds and touches pressing on the senses. The world is not denied or destroyed; the doors are simply drawn quiet for a while so the mind stops being pulled outward at every knock.
Why is the gaze fixed between the eyebrows?
The eyes are the most restless of the senses, and a wandering eye keeps the mind wandering with it. Resting the gaze at one settled point between the brows gives the eyes somewhere to be, so attention has nothing left to chase.
What does evening the breath, prana and apana, accomplish?
The breath and the mind move together. When the ingoing and outgoing breath are made smooth and equal, the agitation that rides on ragged breathing subsides, and the mind grows steady almost by itself, without being forced.
Is this verse asking me to become a renunciate?
No. It is instruction for a seat, not for a life. Krishna is describing what to do with your body when you sit; the chapter around it insists you then rise and act. The freedom described belongs to whoever wants it enough to sit down.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna gives Arjuna a body to sit in. After chapters of principle — act without clinging, see the one in all — comes something you can actually do with your hands and your eyes and your breath. Shut out the touches: not the world abolished, only the doors quieted. The gaze steadied so it stops hunting. And the breath, in and out made equal, because a mind follows the breath the way a boat follows water. Nothing mystical is being asked yet. Sit. Let the ragged breath even itself. The stillness you keep waiting to feel begins as a posture you take before you feel anything.