Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 12
सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च।
मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम्।।
मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम्।।
sarva-dvārāṇi sanyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca
mūrdhnyādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām
also searched as "sarva-dvarani sanyamya mano hridi nirudhya ca"
Translation
Having controlled all the senses, confined the mind in the heart, and fixed his own vital force in the head, he should remain steadfast in yoga.
Vāṇi's rendering
Close the body's gates, gather the mind into the heart, draw the breath to the crown, and hold steady.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सर्वद्वाराणिsarva-dvārāṇi | all the gates — the openings of the senses |
| संयम्यsaṁyamya | having closed, having held in check |
| मनःmano | the mind (manaḥ, softened before the next word) |
| हृदिhṛdi | in the heart |
| निरुध्यnirudhya | having confined, having gathered and held |
| चca | and |
| मूर्ध्निmūrdhni | in the head, at the crown (joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| आधायādhāya | having placed, having drawn up |
| आत्मनःātmanaḥ | one's own |
| प्राणम्prāṇam | the breath, the living force |
| आस्थितःāsthito | established, standing firm (āsthitaḥ before the next word) |
| योगधारणाम्yoga-dhāraṇām | the steady holding that is yoga |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 12 mean?
Krishna is describing the practice of a yogī who leaves the body with full attention: the senses shut, the mind gathered into the heart, the breath lifted to the crown, and then steadiness simply held. It is a picture of dying as skill rather than accident — and of a mind trained long before that hour arrives.
What does the line 'sarva dvarani sanyamya mano hridi nirudhya ca' mean?
The line names the first two movements. Sarva-dvārāṇi are the body's gates, the openings through which the world pours in. Saṁyamya is closing them, not smashing them. Then manaḥ, the wandering mind, is confined in the heart — brought home to one place. Everything else in the verse rests on that gathering.
Is this verse only about the moment of death?
It is spoken about that moment, but not reserved for it. No one gathers the mind at the last breath who has never gathered it before. Krishna gives the practice so the final steadiness will be familiar rather than sudden. Whatever you can hold for a minute now is what will be available then.
What are the gates of the body in Bhagavad Gita 8.12?
The senses — eyes, ears, and the rest. They are called gates because traffic moves both ways through them: the world enters, and attention leaves. Closing them is not contempt for the world. It is choosing, once, to stop the traffic so that what is inside can be found without competition.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Four movements, and each one is a narrowing. The senses close — not denied, just no longer fed. The mind, which lives scattered across everything it wants, is gathered into one place: the heart. The breath is drawn upward. Then nothing is added; you hold. Krishna is describing a man leaving his body deliberately, and Arjuna is being shown that even the last hour can be practice. You will not do this today. But you can do the first part tonight — close one gate, and see how much of the noise was something you were letting in.