Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 10
योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः।
एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः।।
एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः।।
yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ
ekākī yata-cittātmā nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ
also searched as "yogi yunjita satatam atmanam rahasi sthitah"
Translation
The yogin should constantly fix his mind on yoga, remaining in a solitary place all alone, controlling his thoughts and mind, free from desire and a sense of possession.
Vāṇi's rendering
Practice constantly, alone and in solitude, mind and self reined in, expecting nothing, owning nothing.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| योगीyogī | the one who practices yoga |
| युञ्जीतyuñjīta | should join, should yoke himself, should practice |
| सततम्satatam | constantly, without break |
| आत्मानम्ātmānam | the self; here, his own mind |
| रहसिrahasi | in a hidden, quiet place |
| स्थितःsthitaḥ | staying, settled, remaining |
| एकाकीekākī | alone, without company |
| यतचित्तात्माyata-cittātmā | one whose thinking mind and whole self are held in rein |
| निराशीःnirāśīḥ | expecting nothing, without hope laid on outcomes (appears as nirāśīr before the next word) |
| अपरिग्रहःaparigrahaḥ | owning nothing, taking nothing to himself |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 10 mean?
It sets the working conditions for practice. Krishna asks for constancy, quiet, and two kinds of emptiness — nirāśī, no hope hung on results, and aparigraha, no clutching at possessions. The mind and the self are reined in, not crushed. Solitude here is less a location than the absence of inner company.
What does yogi yunjita satatam atmanam rahasi sthitah teach about solitude?
That solitude is a condition of mind before it is a condition of geography. You can sit in an empty room and still be surrounded by what you want and what you refuse to release. Krishna's ekākī means unaccompanied by those. A quiet place helps; it does not do the work for you.
Does this verse mean I must leave my family and live alone to practice?
Krishna is describing the hour of practice, not the shape of a life. Arjuna is not sent to a forest — he is sent back to a battlefield two chapters later. Find the hour and the quiet corner. Aparigraha asks you to loosen the grip, not abandon the people.
Why does Krishna say to expect nothing while practicing?
Because expectation turns practice into a transaction, and a transaction watches the clock. Nirāśī removes the leaning-forward. You sit without asking what today's sitting will earn you, and satatam becomes possible — constancy is only sustainable when nothing is being measured. The practice is then its own result.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Four conditions, and none of them is a place. Alone, in solitude — Arjuna is being sent nowhere he cannot go on a crowded morning; the cave is only the cheapest version of it. Krishna's word is satatam, constantly, not on retreat. What he wants removed is company of a subtler kind: the hope that leans forward into tomorrow, and the grip that closes around what is already here. Nirāśī, aparigraha. Expecting nothing, owning nothing. A mind that wants and holds carries a crowd with it, however empty the room. Open both hands where you sit. The room will do.