Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 14
प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः।
मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः।।
मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः।।
praśāntātmā vigata-bhīr brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ
manaḥ sanyamya mac-citto yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
also searched as "prashantatma vigatabhir brahmachari vrate sthitah"
Translation
Serene and fearless, firm in their vow of celibacy, controlling their minds and fixing their thoughts on Me, they should sit in Yoga, intent on Me.
Vāṇi's rendering
Calm, fearless, firm in brahmacharya, mind held in — sit with your thought on me, intent on me.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| प्रशान्तात्माpraśāntātmā | one whose inner self has grown quiet, settled, calmed |
| विगतभीःvigata-bhīḥ | with fear gone; fearless (appears as vigata-bhīr by sandhi before brahmacāri) |
| ब्रह्मचारिव्रतेbrahmacāri-vrate | in the vow of the brahmacārī — the disciplined, continent life |
| स्थितःsthitaḥ | standing firm, established |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind |
| संयम्यsanyamya | having gathered in, held together, reined |
| मच्चित्तःmac-cittaḥ | with thought on me (appears as mac-citto by sandhi before yukta) |
| युक्तःyuktaḥ | joined, yoked, in union (appears as yukta before āsīta) |
| आसीतāsīta | let him sit |
| मत्परःmat-paraḥ | having me as the highest, intent on me |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 14 mean?
It gives the inner posture of one who sits to meditate: the self quieted, fear departed, the disciplined vow held, the mind gathered in, and the thought resting on Krishna. Each condition prepares the next. The verse does not command a feeling; it describes an arrangement in which the right feeling can arrive.
What does prashantatma vigatabhir brahmachari vrate sthitah teach about fear?
That fear is not conquered head-on. Krishna names calm first — praśānta — and fearlessness follows it. An unsettled mind manufactures dread the way a stirred pool clouds water. Let the stirring stop, and much of what frightened you turns out to have been the stirring itself.
Does this verse mean I must take a vow of celibacy to practise yoga?
Brahmacārī-vrate names a life held to one direction rather than scattered across appetites. Its heart is the gathering of energy, not its denial. What Krishna asks of you is that your force stop leaking in ten directions. Whatever shape that discipline takes in your life, the verse means it seriously.
Why does Krishna say to sit with thought on him rather than on the Self?
Because the mind needs somewhere to rest, and an abstraction is hard to rest on. Mac-citto, mat-paraḥ — thought on me, intent on me. Krishna offers himself as the place the mind can settle. Held there, it stops wandering, and the settling is what the whole verse was built toward.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Fearlessness is not first on the list. It is second. Krishna puts calm before it — praśānta — because fear does not leave a mind that is still churning; it leaves a mind that has settled. Then the vow, then the reins on thought. This is a seat, not a battle. Arjuna is being taught how to sit, and the sitting itself does the work that arguing with fear cannot. You cannot decide to be unafraid. You can decide to sit down, hold the mind in, and put your thought somewhere worth resting it. Fear goes quietly when it has nothing left to feed on.