Bhagavad Gita 6.33
Spoken by Arjuna ☆ Key verse · Verse 33 of 47 · Arjuna's Journey
अर्जुन उवाच | योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन | एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ||३३||
arjuna uvāca | yo'yaṃ yogas tvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana | etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvāt sthitiṃ sthirām || 33 ||
O Madhusūdana — I see no stable foundation for this yoga: the mind's restlessness defeats all steadiness.
Word by word (3)
- yaḥ ayaṃ yogaḥ tvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana
- — this yoga characterised by evenness/sameness (sama), which You have taught, O Madhusūdana · proktaḥ = has been taught, has been stated (from pra + √vac, to speak). sāmyena = by evenness, characterised by equality/sameness (sāmya from sama = equal). madhusūdana = 'slayer of Madhu' — Krishna's epithet, used here with respectful address. Arjuna is referring to the entire V19-32 teaching on samādhi, sama-darśana, and ātmaupamyena — the yoga 'characterised by evenness' that Krishna has described.
- etasya ahaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvāt sthitiṃ sthirām
- — of this I do not see any stable, steady foundation, due to restlessness · etasya = of this (yoga). na paśyāmi = I do not see, I cannot perceive. cañcalatvāt = due to restlessness (cañcalatva = the state/quality of being cañcala, restless — the noun form of V26's cañcala). sthiti = foundation, steadiness, stable situation. sthirām = stable, steady (the adjective, same root as sthitaprajña). Arjuna's confession: the yoga you've described is all about 'sama' (evenness, sameness), but I cannot see even the possibility of stable steadiness in this yoga — because my mind is cañcala (restless). The problem is named with precision: cañcalatva (restlessness) prevents sthira sthiti (stable foundation).
- cañcalatvāt sthitiṃ sthirām na paśyāmi (the diagnosis)
- — restlessness is the obstacle to stable foundation — Arjuna names the root problem · The pairing of sthitiṃ sthirām (stable foundation — both noun and adjective emphasising the quality of stability) against cañcalatva (restlessness) is Arjuna's precise diagnosis. He is not saying 'I'm not trying' or 'I don't understand' — he is saying 'I see the problem clearly: the very quality you require (sthira — stability) is what my mind lacks (cañcalatva — restlessness).' This honest self-knowledge is V33's gift: Arjuna identifies the obstacle with diagnostic precision, which makes Krishna's answer in V35 possible.
Arjuna speaks: O Krishna (Madhusūdana), the yoga of evenness and sama-darśana that You have taught — I cannot see how anyone could sustain it with any stability, because the mind is restless (cañcala). Restlessness makes stable foundation impossible.
A modern analogy
A student hears a brilliant lecture on concert-level piano playing. They understand it intellectually. Then they honestly assess: 'I can barely hold a rhythm. The gap between what you're describing and what I can currently do is enormous. How do I get from here to there?' This verse is that honest assessment. Arjuna has understood everything from the equal-mindedness of the self-conquered yogi to the supreme yogi who measures all beings by himself — now he identifies the gap.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does NOT show Arjuna being defeatist or making excuses. He has listened carefully to the whole teaching — from the self-conquered yogi's equal vision to the supreme yogi's universal empathy — and identified the precise obstacle: cañcalatva (restlessness). This honest naming of the obstacle is the prerequisite for Krishna's answer. This verse is courage, not complaint.
Take with you
- This verse validates the practitioner's experience of the gap between teaching and capacity. Every honest meditator has had this moment: 'I understand what you're describing — but my mind simply won't cooperate.' This verse shows that Arjuna himself had this experience, and that Krishna's coming answer — that the mind is governed through practice and dispassion — does not dismiss it.
- The precision of Arjuna's diagnosis — cañcalatvāt sthitiṃ sthirām na paśyāmi — models good self-knowledge. Naming the obstacle clearly ('restlessness prevents stability') is the prerequisite for working with it. Vague complaints get vague answers; precise diagnosis gets Krishna's specific remedy of practice and dispassion.
- This verse and the next together form Arjuna's two-part complaint: this one says the yoga seems unstable (cañcalatva); the next gives the reason in more detail (the mind is even harder to restrain than the wind). The two verses build a case that Krishna addresses directly with his prescription of abhyāsa and vairāgya.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
Arjuna said: This yoga characterised by evenness which You have taught, O Madhusūdana — of this I do not see stable steadiness, owing to restlessness. [1]
This Yoga which has been taught by Thee, O slayer of Madhu, as characterised by evenness, I do not see (the possibility of) its lasting endurance, owing to restlessness (of the mind). [4]
Arjuna said: This Yoga of equanimity taught by thee, O Madhusūdana — I see not how it can endure, owing to the restlessness (of mind). [5]
Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana, this yoga which is based on an even state of mind — I do not see how it can endure, owing to the instability of the mind. [6]
Arjuna: O Madhusudana! where is the constancy in this which thou callest unity and equanimity, since the mind is so restless and inconsistent? [7]
Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana! I do not see how this yoga, characterised by equanimity, can permanently subsist, since the mind is restless. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Who measures others' joy and pain by the standard of their own — seeing the same everywhere — is the supreme yogi.
Restless, turbulent, strong, unyielding — O Krishna, restraining the mind is as hard as restraining the wind.
Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders — from there and there, bring it back under the Self's control. Every time.
Those who know Me as Adhibhūta, Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajña — they know Me even at death, with unified minds.
When your mind — shaken by conflicting teachings — stands still in samādhi: that is yoga attained.
The guṇātīta neither hates light, activity, or delusion when present — nor yearns for them when absent.
Verse 33 of 47 · back to Chapter 6