Chapter 6, Verse 34
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम् | तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ||६-३४||
cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham . tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram ||6-34||
Meaning
6.34 The mind verily is restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding, O Krishna: I deem it as difficult to control it as to control the wind.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna deepens his objection with a vivid catalogue of the mind's stubborn qualities. It is chanchala, restless; pramathi, turbulent and churning, even violently disturbing; balavat, powerful; and dridha, obstinate and unyielding. Anyone who has ever tried to sit still and quiet the mind will recognize the accuracy of this fourfold description with a rueful smile.
Then comes his unforgettable image: controlling the mind, he says, is as hard as controlling the wind — vayor iva suduskaram. The wind cannot be caught, held, or commanded; it goes where it will. So too the mind seems to scatter and rush beyond all restraint. Arjuna is not being weak here; he is being precise, naming the central difficulty of all spiritual practice across every tradition. His honesty makes him a true representative of every struggling seeker, and it earns from Krishna a reply that does not deny the difficulty but offers a real and practical way through it.
💡 Key Takeaway
The mind is genuinely as hard to hold as the wind — naming the difficulty honestly is the first step toward mastering it.
Related Verses
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः | अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ||६-६||
bandhurātmātmanastasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ . anātmanastu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatruvat ||6-6||
6.6 The Self is the friend of the self of him by whom the self has been conered by the Self, but to the unconered self, this Self stands in the position of an enemy, like an (external) foe.
यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता | योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः ||६-१९||
yathā dīpo nivātastho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā . yogino yatacittasya yuñjato yogamātmanaḥ ||6-19||
6.19 As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker to such is compared the Yogi of controlled mind, practising Yoga in the Self (or absorbed in the Yoga of the Self).
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् | ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ||६-२६||
yato yato niścarati manaścañcalamasthiram . tatastato niyamyaitadātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet ||6-26||
6.26 From whatever cause the restless and unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it and bring it under the control of the Self alone.