Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 12
तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः।
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये।।
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये।।
tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ
upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye
also searched as "tatraikagram manah kritva yatachittendriyakriyah"
Translation
Sitting on the seat, with a concentrated mind, controlling the mind and senses, one should practice Yoga for the purification of the self.
Vāṇi's rendering
There, sit; gather the mind to one point; still the senses and their wandering — and practice, to purify yourself.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तत्रtatra | there — on that seat just described |
| एकाग्रम्ekāgram | gathered to a single point (sandhi: tatra + ekāgram) |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind |
| कृत्वाkṛtvā | having made |
| यत-चित्त-इन्द्रिय-क्रियःyata-citta-indriya-kriyaḥ | one whose thought and sense-activity are held in check |
| उपविश्यupaviśya | having sat down |
| आसनेāsane | on the seat (sandhi: upaviśya + āsane) |
| युञ्ज्यात्yuñjyāt | let him practise, let him join |
| योगम्yogam | yoga |
| आत्म-विशुद्धयेātma-viśuddhaye | for the cleansing of oneself |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 12 mean?
It is the moment the seat becomes practice. Having settled the body, one gathers the scattered mind to a single point and lets the senses stop their reaching. The aim Krishna names is not power or vision but ātma-viśuddhi — becoming clean inwardly. Everything before this verse was arrangement; this is where the work begins.
What does tatraikagram manah kritva mean in the Gita?
Tatra means there — on the seat prepared in the verses before. Ekāgram manaḥ kṛtvā is making the mind one-pointed, drawing in what usually runs in ten directions at once. Krishna does not ask you to empty the mind. He asks you to give it one place to rest, and then to stay.
Why does Krishna say yoga is for purification of the self?
Because the self is not lacking anything; it is only clouded. Practice does not add holiness, it removes film. Ātma-viśuddhaye sets the whole discipline against ambition — you are not sitting to acquire, you are sitting so that what is already there stops being obscured by noise and craving.
Do I need a special posture and seat to practise this verse?
The seat matters only as much as a clean table matters to writing. Krishna describes it so the body stops making demands. What he actually asks for is a mind held at one point and senses no longer wandering. Your chair and your hour will do, if you keep them.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just spent three verses on where to sit and what to sit on. Now the seat is ready and nothing has happened yet. The posture was never the practice; it was the clearing of ground. What follows is inward — one point for the mind, stillness for the senses that keep reaching. And the purpose named is small and enormous: ātma-viśuddhaye, to purify yourself. Not to gain powers, not to reach anywhere. Arjuna is a man about to fight; he is told to sit down and get clean. You already know your seat — the chair, the hour. Sitting in it is not the same as arriving.