Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 18
यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते।
निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा।।
निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा।।
yadā viniyataṁ cittam ātmanyevāvatiṣṭhate
niḥspṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo yukta ityucyate tadā
also searched as "yada viniyatam cittam atmanyevavatishthate"
Translation
When the subdued mind rests solely on the Self, then, free from all yearning for objects of desire, one is said to be fit for Yoga.
Vāṇi's rendering
When the disciplined mind settles in the self alone, hungering for nothing — then you are truly yoked.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यदाyadā | when |
| विनियतम्viniyataṁ | fully reined in, disciplined |
| चित्तम्cittam | the thinking mind |
| आत्मनिātmani | in the self |
| एवeva | alone, and nowhere else (joined to the previous word by sandhi) |
| अवतिष्ठतेavatiṣṭhate | comes to rest, settles down (joined to eva by sandhi) |
| निःस्पृहःniḥspṛhaḥ | without hankering, reaching for nothing |
| सर्वकामेभ्यःsarva-kāmebhyo | from all desires (final ḥ softened before the next word) |
| युक्तःyukta | yoked, joined, in union (final ḥ dropped before iti) |
| इतिiti | thus |
| उच्यतेucyate | is called, is said to be |
| तदाtadā | then |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 18 mean?
It gives the mark of one truly in yoga. The mind, held steady, comes to rest in the self and stops reaching for anything outside it. Krishna is not describing a posture or a practice hour. He is describing a condition: nothing left pulling, so the mind stays where it already is.
What does yada viniyatam cittam atmanyevavatishthate teach about the mind?
That a mind goes wherever its craving goes. Discipline is not forcing the mind to stay; it is removing what keeps calling it away. Once the calling stops, resting in the self is not an achievement — it is simply what remains. The Sanskrit says avatiṣṭhate: it comes down and stands.
Does this verse mean I must have no desires at all?
It means no desire is holding the reins. Niḥspṛhaḥ is not deadness; it is the absence of hankering — of that forward lean toward what is not here. You may still act, still want things done. What ends is being dragged. Watch which of your wants can wait, and which cannot.
How do I know if I am actually established in yoga?
Krishna offers a plain test rather than a feeling. Sit, and see whether the mind stays without being held. If it bolts, something outside is still owed your attention. That is not failure — it is information about where your hunger lives, and hunger is what the practice slowly quietens.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna is giving Arjuna a way to check, not a way to strain. Notice the order: the mind is disciplined first, and only then does it settle — and settling is not effort, it is what a mind does when nothing is pulling it outward. Hunger for one thing and you are stretched toward that thing; the mind lives where its wanting lives. Empty the wanting and it comes home. Only after this does the word yukta get used. You are not yoked because you sat down to practise. You are yoked when nothing in you is leaning elsewhere.