Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 34
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम्।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्।।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्।।
cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣkaram
also searched as "chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balavad dridham"
Translation
For the mind is fickle, O Krsna, impetuous, powerful, and stubborn; I think that restraining it is as difficult as restraining the wind.
Vāṇi's rendering
The mind is restless, violent, strong, stubborn. Holding it seems as hard as holding the wind.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| चञ्चलम्cañcalam | restless, always moving |
| हिhi | indeed, for |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind |
| कृष्णkṛṣṇa | O Krishna |
| प्रमाथिpramāthi | churning, violent — it shakes whatever it touches |
| बलवत्balavat | strong (joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| दृढम्dṛḍham | hard, unyielding, stubborn |
| तस्यtasya | of it, of that mind |
| अहम्aham | I (joined by sandhi to tasya) |
| निग्रहम्nigraham | holding down, restraint |
| मन्येmanye | I think, I reckon |
| वायोःvāyoḥ | of the wind (joined by sandhi to iva) |
| इवiva | like, as |
| सुदुष्करम्su-duṣkaram | very hard to do, near impossible |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 34 mean?
Arjuna tells Krishna the plain truth: the mind will not sit still. He calls it cañcala, restless; pramāthi, churning; strong and stubborn. Holding it, he says, is like holding the wind. It is not a complaint against the teaching but an admission of what he has found when he tried it.
What does 'chanchalam hi manah krishna' mean?
It means "the mind is restless, Krishna." Cañcala names something that flickers and will not settle. Arjuna is not describing a defect he read about; he is describing what he met the moment he sat down to steady himself. The honesty of that report is what makes the next verse possible.
Is Arjuna right that the mind cannot be controlled?
He is right about its force and wrong about the conclusion. Krishna answers in the very next verse: yes, hard — but abhyāsa and vairāgya, steady practice and loosened grip, will do it. The mind is not tamed by one heroic effort. It is tamed by returning, again, after each drift.
Why does the Gita compare the mind to the wind?
Because wind cannot be caught by grabbing. It has no edges, no handle, and the harder you close your fist the emptier it is. Arjuna's image is exact — and it quietly tells him the method. You do not seize the wind. You set a sail, and let it work.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna does not argue with the teaching. He argues with himself — and he is honest, which is rarer. He has been told to seat the mind, still it, hold it steady, and he answers: I have tried, and it is wind. Notice he does not say the mind is wrong. Restless, violent, strong, stubborn — these are the words of a man who has felt his own mind's force from the inside. Krishna does not deny a syllable of it. The confession is the beginning of the practice. Say plainly what your mind actually does, and you have stopped pretending to hold it.