Bhagavad Gita 6.35
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 35 of 47
श्रीभगवानुवाच | असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् | अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ||३५||
śrī bhagavān uvāca | asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam | abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate || 35 ||
Yes, the mind is restless and hard to restrain — but through abhyāsa and vairāgya, it is governed.
Word by word (3)
- asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam
- — Without doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is difficult to restrain and restless · asaṃśayaṃ = without doubt, certainly (a-saṃśaya). mahābāho = O mighty-armed (mahā = great, bāhu = arm — Arjuna's warrior epithet, used here with warm acknowledgement: Krishna takes Arjuna's concern seriously). manaḥ = the mind. durnigraham = difficult to restrain (dur- = hard/difficult, nigraha = restraint). calam = moving, restless (same root as cañcala). Krishna begins by validating V34 completely: 'Without doubt — I agree with you, O strong one.' This is not dismissal; it is full acknowledgement before giving the path.
- abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate
- — but through practice (abhyāsa) and through dispassion (vairāgya), it is restrained · abhyāsena = by practice, through repeated practice (abhyāsa = continuous repetition, regular effort, from abhi + √as, to practise repeatedly). tu = but (the turn from acknowledgement to remedy). kaunteya = O son of Kunti (Arjuna's matronymic — warm, personal). vairāgyeṇa = by dispassion, non-attachment (vairāgya = the state of vairāgin, one who is without rāga = passion/colour/attachment; vi = without, rāga = passion). ca = and. gṛhyate = it is restrained, it is grasped (passive of √grah, to grasp). Two instruments: abhyāsa (repeated practice) + vairāgya (non-attachment to results). Neither alone is sufficient; together they address both aspects of the mind's restlessness — its habit of wandering (addressed by abhyāsa) and its investment in wandering (addressed by vairāgya).
- abhyāsa / vairāgya (the paired remedy)
- — Practice + Dispassion — the two pillars of the entire path · This pair appears in other contexts in Indian philosophy (notably Yoga Sūtra 1.12-16 of Patañjali: 'abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṃ tannirodhah' — the cessation (of mind's fluctuations) through practice and dispassion). V35 is the Gita's version of this foundational teaching. Abhyāsa addresses the mind's habit of wandering: consistent practice builds new neural pathways (modern) / saṃskāras (traditional) that make returning to awareness easier. Vairāgya addresses the mind's attachment to its wandering: when we are deeply interested in our thoughts, we follow them; vairāgya makes the thoughts less 'interesting' (literally: less coloured/rāga) — they lose their pull. Together, abhyāsa builds the capacity to return AND vairāgya reduces the frequency and grip of wandering.
No doubt, O mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to hold. But it can be mastered, son of Kuntī — through steady practice and through dispassion.
A modern analogy
A river that has carved a deep channel over centuries doesn't change course overnight. But consistent gentle redirection (abhyāsa) combined with not reinforcing the old channel (vairāgya — non-attachment to the old paths) will, over years, shift the river's course. The mind's habitual wandering is like the river's channel: it took years to form; it changes through consistent, patient redirection.
What it does NOT mean
This does NOT promise that the mind will become permanently quiet quickly. Abhyāsa (practice) and vairāgya (dispassion) are gradual paths — the same 'śanaiḥ śanaiḥ' (gradually, gradually) of the earlier instruction to settle the mind little by little. Krishna gives the direction and the instruments here; the timeline requires patience.
Take with you
- Abhyāsa (practice) in concrete terms: daily, regular, consistent sitting practice — even 15-20 minutes — builds the capacity to keep returning the mind over time. Without abhyāsa, vairāgya is merely an idea. Without vairāgya, abhyāsa becomes effortful striving that exhausts rather than builds.
- Vairāgya (dispassion) is not indifference — it is not being 'hooked' by the mind's content. When a thought arises, vairāgya is the quality of not following it, not because it's bad but because you're not invested in its pull. This reduces rāga — the mind's colouring/attraction-repulsion investment in its own content.
- The two-part remedy maps to two different types of meditation difficulty: (1) 'I forget to practise' → abhyāsa (build the habit); (2) 'I practise but get pulled into thoughts' → vairāgya (reduce the investment in thought content). Know which is your primary obstacle and apply the corresponding remedy.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
The Blessed Lord said: Without doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is difficult to restrain and restless — but it is restrained through practice and through dispassion, O son of Kunti. [1]
Without doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is restless, and difficult to control; but through practice and renunciation, O son of Kunti, it may be governed. [4]
The Blessed Lord said: Without doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is hard to curb and restless; but it may be curbed by constant practice and by dispassion. [5]
The Blessed Lord replied: O mighty-armed, without doubt the mind is restless and hard to restrain; but it may be controlled through practice and dispassion. [6]
O Arjuna! The mind is wayward, fickle, and hard of guidance: yet may it be governed, O prince, by vigorous practice and by right passionlessness. [7]
The Blessed Lord said: O prince of mighty arm! undoubtedly the mind is fickle and difficult to restrain. But, O son of Kunti! it is controlled by practice and renunciation of desires. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Restless, turbulent, strong, unyielding — O Krishna, restraining the mind is as hard as restraining the wind.
Yoga is hard for the uncontrolled self — but for the self-controlled one striving by right means, it is attainable.
If you can't fix the mind steadily in Me — through abhyāsa-yoga (repeated practice), aspire to reach Me!
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
The yogi practises constantly in solitude — alone, mind and body subdued, free from craving and possessiveness.
Verse 35 of 47 · back to Chapter 6