Bhagavad Gita 5.27
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 27 of 29
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः। प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ॥५-२७॥
sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṃś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ | prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau || 5.27 ||
Sense contacts excluded, gaze fixed between brows, breath equalized — this is the meditation posture for liberation.
Word by word (4)
- sparśān kṛtvā bahiḥ bāhyāṃḥ
- — having placed outer sense-contacts outside / having excluded external touches from attention (sparśa = sense contact, bahir = outside, bāhya = outer)
- cakṣuḥ ca eva antare bhruvoḥ
- — and having fixed the gaze between the eyebrows (cakṣus = eye/gaze, antare bhruvoḥ = between the two brows — the ājñā point in yogic tradition)
- prāṇa-apānau samau kṛtvā
- — having equalized prāṇa and apāna — the upward-moving and downward-moving breaths (sama = equal/balanced; this describes regulation of the breath cycle)
- nāsā-abhyantara-cāriṇau
- — moving within the nostrils / the two breaths flowing in the interior of the nostrils (nāsā = nose, abhyantara = within/internal, cārin = moving)
Shutting out external contacts, with the gaze held between the eyebrows, balancing the inward and outward breaths that move through the nostrils —
A modern analogy
Before a surgeon operates, there is a systematic preparation: scrubbing hands, putting on gloves, establishing a sterile field — a deliberate sequence that creates the conditions for the precision work to follow. This verse's three-step preparation (withdraw senses, fix gaze, equalize breath) is the meditator's equivalent: creating the inner conditions for the precision work of self-inquiry to follow. None of the steps is the surgery itself — they are the preparation that makes the surgery possible.
What it does NOT mean
This is not a rigid prescription that the only valid meditation is this exact physical posture. The three elements are specific instances of broader principles: withdraw attention from outer contacts (pratyāhāra), fix the inner gaze (dhāraṇā), regulate the breath (prāṇāyāma). The Gita here is describing one traditional mode — not legislating the only mode. Ch.6 will return to meditation practice in much greater detail.
Take with you
- Sparśān kṛtvā bahir — 'having placed contacts outside.' This is the classic pratyāhāra (withdrawal of senses) step from Patañjali's eight-limbed yoga. Before meditating, intentionally close off sensory engagement: eyes closed, sounds acknowledged but not pursued, touch sensations noted but not elaborated. This deliberate withdrawal turns the attention from outside to inside.
- Antare bhruvoḥ (between the eyebrows): in yogic tradition, this is the ājñā chakra — the point of focused inner attention. Fixing the inner gaze here concentrates the scattered mind to a single internal locus. It is not a physical squint but an internal act of attention: imagining the gaze resting at that point draws the mind inward.
- Prāṇāpānau samau (equalizing prāṇa and apāna): prāṇa is the upward-moving breath; apāna is the downward-moving breath. Sama (equal) suggests a balanced, regulated breath cycle — neither forced nor held — which in yogic physiology settles the nervous system and prepares the mind for single-pointed awareness.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"Having excluded outer sense-contacts from outside, and having fixed the gaze between the eyebrows, and having equalized prāṇa and apāna moving within the nostrils..." [1]
"Shutting out all external contacts, fixing the vision between the eyebrows, equalising the outgoing and incoming breaths moving within the nostrils..." [4]
"Shutting out external contacts, fixing the vision between the brows, making equal the outgoing and incoming breaths that move through the nostrils..." [5]
"The devotee who shuts out from his mind all the impacts of the senses and fixes his gaze between the brows, who suspends in the nostrils the inbreathing and outbreathing of his breath..." [6]
"Putting sense-contacts away — outside — with the gaze fixed between the eyebrows, and equalising the in-breathing and out-breathing within the nostrils..." [7]
"Keeping all external objects outside, the eye fixed between the brows, and making equal the two vital airs in the nostrils..." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
With senses, mind and buddhi controlled, free of desire, fear and anger — the liberation-oriented muni is ever-free.
The yogi practises constantly in solitude — alone, mind and body subdued, free from craving and possessiveness.
Abandon all desires born of mental planning — without remainder — and restrain the senses completely, by the mind alone.
Close all nine gates, hold mind in heart, fix prāṇa in the head — the body's yoga posture for final departure.
Frequenting solitude, eating lightly, restraining speech-body-mind, always in dhyāna-yoga, fully in vairāgya —
Practising thus always, with a controlled mind — the yogi reaches the supreme peace of nirvāṇa, abiding in the Supreme.
Verse 27 of 29 · back to Chapter 5