Moderation supports yoga.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः |न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ||६-१६||
nātyaśnatastu yogo.asti na caikāntamanaśnataḥ . na cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna ||6-16||
Use this verse when discipline becomes extreme.
Meaning
Yoga is not for one who eats too much or too little, sleeps too much or stays awake too much, O Arjuna.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Yoga needs balance, not extremes.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
Krishna gives a practical warning: extremes in food and sleep disturb meditation. Spiritual discipline should be sustainable.
Read the traditional commentary
After the lofty heights of liberation, Krishna brings Arjuna gently back to earth with profoundly practical wisdom: yoga is not for extremists. Neither the glutton nor the one who starves himself, neither the sluggard who oversleeps nor the zealot who denies himself all rest, can succeed. This corrects a common spiritual error — the belief that harsh self-mortification proves devotion.
The path to the Divine, Krishna teaches, runs through balance, not violence against the body. Excess in either direction unsettles the mind: too much food dulls it, too little weakens it; too much sleep clouds it, too little frays it. Spiritual life is not built by punishing the instrument but by tuning it.
This 'middle way' anticipates the next verse's full statement of moderation. The message is liberating: you need not torture yourself to find God — you need to live with measured, mindful balance.
In daily life
Avoid extreme lifestyle swings.
A person cannot meditate well after both overeating and chronic sleep deprivation.
Try this today
Balance one area: food, sleep, work, or screen time.
I choose moderation as spiritual discipline.Reflect
Where am I extreme in lifestyle?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘न च अतिस्वप्नशीलस्य’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on self care, in other chapters
- Verse 17.6The Divine dwells within your body, so honour it as a temple — punishing yourself is not piety but a kind of self-violence.
- Verse 2.48Equanimity — being balanced in success and failure alike — is not just a nice quality; it is the very definition of yoga.
- Verse 4.22Stay content with what comes, free of comparison, and even-minded in success or failure — then no action can bind you.
- Verse 13.10Love your people and possessions with open hands, keeping an even mind through both fortune and loss.
Swipe left for 6.17 · Balance is medicine for sorrow.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 6.16
Who says Bhagavad Gita 6.16, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 6.16, in Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga (Dhyana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 6.16 mean?
Yoga is not for one who eats too much or too little, sleeps too much or stays awake too much, O Arjuna. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 6.16 for daily life?
Avoid extreme lifestyle swings. A person cannot meditate well after both overeating and chronic sleep deprivation.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 6.16 mean?
न अत्यश्नतः — not for one who eats too much; तु योगः अस्ति — is yoga possible; न च एकान्तम् अनश्नतः — nor for one who eats nothing at all; न च अतिस्वप्नशीलस्य — nor for one who sleeps too much; जाग्रतः न एव च — nor for one who keeps awake too much.
Where does verse 6.16 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 16 of 47 in Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga. The next verse is 6.17.