Chapter 6, Verse 37
अर्जुन उवाच | अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः | अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ||६-३७||
arjuna uvāca . ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ . aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||6-37||
Meaning
6.37 Arjuna said He who is unable to control himself though he has the faith, and whose mind wanders away from Yoga, what end does he, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, mee,t O Krishna?
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna raises a question that has comforted countless seekers ever since. What becomes of the one who has shraddha — sincere faith — and sets out on the path, but is ayati, lacking in sustained effort, whose mind strays from yoga so that he dies without reaching perfection? It is the anxious worry of every aspirant who fears falling short: have I gambled everything and gained nothing?
The concern is poignant and very human. Such a person seems to fall between two stools — having renounced worldly pursuits for the spiritual goal, yet failing to attain that goal. Has he lost both worlds? Arjuna gives voice to the fear that the spiritual path might be an all-or-nothing wager where partial effort leads to total ruin. This tender question opens the door to one of Krishna's most reassuring and beautiful teachings — that no sincere step toward the Divine is ever wasted, a promise that has steadied the hearts of seekers for ages.
💡 Key Takeaway
Even sincere seekers fear that falling short means losing everything — but it is worth asking what truly becomes of incomplete effort.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन | एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ||६-३३||
arjuna uvāca . yo.ayaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana . etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvātsthitiṃ sthirām ||6-33||
6.33 Arjuna said This Yoga of eanimity taught by Thee, O Krishna, I do not see its steady continuance, because of the restlessness (of the mind).
कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति | अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ||६-३८||
kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaśchinnābhramiva naśyati . apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||6-38||
Swami Sivananda did not comment on this sloka
एतन्मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः | त्वदन्यः संशयस्यास्य छेत्ता न ह्युपपद्यते ||६-३९||
etanme saṃśayaṃ kṛṣṇa chettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ . tvadanyaḥ saṃśayasyāsya chettā na hyupapadyate ||6-39||
6.39 This doubt of mine, O Krishna, do Thou dispel completely; because it is not possible for any but Thee to dispel this doubt.