Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 19
यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता।
योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः।।
योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः।।
yathā dīpo nivāta-stho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā
yogino yata-cittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ
also searched as "yatha dipo nivatastho nengate sopama smrta"
Translation
A lamp does not flicker in a windless place"—that is the simile used for the tranquil mind of a yogi who practices yoga.
Vāṇi's rendering
A lamp in a windless room does not flicker. So stands the mind of a yogi in practice.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यथाyathā | just as |
| दीपःdīpo | a lamp, a flame |
| निवात-स्थःnivāta-stho | standing where there is no wind |
| नna | not (joined with the next word as neṅgate) |
| इङ्गतेiṅgate | flickers, wavers, stirs |
| साsā | that (joined with the next word as sopamā) |
| उपमाupamā | comparison, likeness |
| स्मृताsmṛtā | is remembered, has been handed down |
| योगिनःyogino | of the yogi |
| यत-चित्तस्यyata-cittasya | whose mind is held, gathered in |
| युञ्जतःyuñjato | of one joining, practising, yoking |
| योगम्yogam | the yoga, the joining |
| आत्मनःātmanaḥ | of the self, in the self |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 19 mean?
It gives one picture: a lamp burning in a room with no wind. That unwavering flame is what the gathered mind of a yogi looks like. The verse does not command steadiness — it describes what appears once the disturbances are withdrawn. The light was always steady. Only the air around it moved.
What does yatha dipo nivatastho nengate mean in the Gita?
"As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker." Nivāta-stha means simply standing where no wind reaches. Krishna chooses the sheltered spot, not a sturdier lamp. Your steadiness comes from arranging your life so the draughts stop, not from gripping harder at the flame.
How can I make my mind as steady as that lamp?
Stop attacking the flickering. Look instead for the openings — the noise you invite, the appetites you feed, the arguments you rehearse before sleep. Krishna's earlier verses on seat, posture and withdrawn senses are all wall-building. Close the windows patiently, and the trembling settles without being fought.
Does this verse mean I must withdraw from the world to find peace?
No. The room is inward. A person can sit in a marketplace with the windows shut and sit in a forest with them flung open. What Krishna asks is that you stop consenting to every gust. The shelter is built by attention, not by geography.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice what the image does not say. It does not say the lamp is strong, or that it has conquered the wind. It says the room is windless. The flame is the same flame; only the draught is gone. Krishna has just described the seat, the posture, the drawn-in senses — all of it is the building of walls. You cannot order a flame to stop trembling. You can shut the window. So practice is never a war against your own mind; it is the patient closing of the doors that let the weather in. Then steadiness happens by itself, and you simply burn.