Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 35
श्री भगवानुवाच
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलं।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते।।
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलं।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते।।
śrī bhagavān uvāca
asanśayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ calam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate
also searched as "asamshayam mahabaho mano durnigraham chalam"
Translation
The Lord said, "The mind is indeed hard to subdue and fickle, O mighty-armed one, but, O son of Kunti, it can be brought under control through practice and the exercise of dispassion."
Vāṇi's rendering
No doubt, the mind is hard to hold and always moving. But practice and letting-go can hold it.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रीśrī | holy, revered |
| भगवान्bhagavān | the Blessed One, Krishna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| असंशयंasanśayaṁ | without doubt; you are right |
| महाबाहोmahā-bāho | O mighty-armed one — Arjuna |
| मनःmano | the mind (manaḥ, softened before the next word) |
| दुर्निग्रहंdurnigrahaṁ | hard to grip, hard to hold down |
| चलंcalam | moving, never still |
| अभ्यासेनabhyāsena | by practice, by returning to it again and again |
| तुtu | but, and yet |
| कौन्तेयkaunteya | O son of Kunti |
| वैराग्येणvairāgyeṇa | by letting go, by loosening desire |
| चca | and |
| गृह्यतेgṛhyate | it is held, it is caught |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 35 mean?
Krishna concedes Arjuna's complaint before answering it. Yes, the mind is restless and hard to hold. But it can be held — by abhyāsa, the patient return, and vairāgya, the loosening of what drags you off. Difficulty is not impossibility. The verse takes an honest problem and gives it an honest method.
What is the meaning of asamshayam mahabaho mano durnigraham chalam?
It means: without doubt, mighty-armed one, the mind is hard to grip and always moving. Krishna begins by agreeing. He does not tell Arjuna the struggle is imagined or that a stronger man would not feel it. He grants the whole of it, and then says the thing can still be done.
What are abhyasa and vairagya in this verse?
Abhyāsa is practice — coming back to the same place after the mind has wandered, and coming back the next time too, and the time after that. Vairāgya is letting go — slackening your hold on the pulls that scatter you. One steadies, one lightens. Krishna gives them together because neither works alone.
Why does Krishna agree that the mind is uncontrollable?
Because a teaching that begins by denying your experience cannot reach you. Arjuna has spoken plainly about his own failure, and Krishna meets it plainly. Only after the difficulty is admitted in full does the remedy mean anything. If you have been told your restlessness is a personal defect, this verse says otherwise.
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Commentary
Krishna agrees. That is the surprise — Arjuna has just called the mind as restless as the wind, impossible to hold, and Krishna does not correct him. No doubt, he says. Your difficulty is real; you have not misdiagnosed it. Then he offers abhyāsa: returning, again, after each drift, without drama. And vairāgya: loosening the grip on whatever keeps pulling you away. One is repetition, the other release, and neither is force. The mind is not conquered the way a battle is won. It is held the way a rope is held — steadily, and a little loose. Begin again tomorrow morning.