Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna
Bhagavad Gita 2.58: Yada sanharate chayam
Krishna compares such a person to a tortoise.
Bhagavad Gita 2.58
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः ।इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥
Yada sanharate chayam kurmonganiva sarvashah
Indriyanindriyarthebhyastasya prajna pratishthita
yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmo’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ |
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyastasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā ||
Our meaning Krishna compares such a person to a tortoise. As a tortoise draws in its limbs on every side, this person can draw the senses back from their objects. Such a person's wisdom is firmly set.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण ऐसे व्यक्ति की तुलना कछुए से करते हैं। जैसे कछुआ अपने अंगों को सब ओर से समेट लेता है, वैसे ही जो इंद्रियों को विषयों से हटा लेता है, उसकी बुद्धि स्थिर है।
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- यदा yadā when (indeclinable) Dictionary: yadā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 1
when, at what time, whenever
- संहरते saṃharate draws in (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: saṃ-hṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1123, col. 1
to bring or draw together, unite, compress, collect, contract
- च ca and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1
ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as
- अयम् ayam this (person) (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. idam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 2
- कूर्मः kūrmaḥ a tortoise (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: kūrma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 300, col. 2
a tortoise, turtle
- अङ्गानि aṅgāni limbs (noun (neuter), accusative plural) Dictionary: 2. aṅga, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 7, col. 3
a limb of the body
- इव iva like (indeclinable) Dictionary: iva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 168, col. 3
like, in the same manner as
- सर्वशः sarvaśaḥ fully, on all sides (indeclinable) Dictionary: sarvaśas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1189, col. 2
wholly, completely, entirely, thoroughly, collectively, altogether
- इन्द्रियाणि indriyāṇi the senses (noun (neuter), accusative plural) Dictionary: indriya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 167, col. 2
faculty of sense, sense, organ of sense
- इन्द्रियार्थेभ्यः indriyārthebhyaḥ from the objects of sense (compound (masculine), ablative plural) Dictionary: indriyārtha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 167, col. 2
an object of sense (as sound, smell, &c.)
- तस्य tasya his (pronoun (masculine), genitive singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1
m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this
- प्रज्ञा prajñā wisdom (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: pra-jñā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 659, col. 2
wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, discrimination, judgment
- प्रतिष्ठिता pratiṣṭhitā is firmly set (past participle (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: prati-ṣṭhita, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 671, col. 3
standing, stationed, placed, situated in or on
Public-domain translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 50.
A man's mind is steady, when he withdraws his senses from (all) objects of sense, as the tortoise (withdraws) its limbs from all sides.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 50.
A man's mind is steady, when he withdraws his senses from (all) objects of sense, as the tortoise (withdraws) its limbs from all sides.
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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 36.
When, again, as a tortoise draws in on all sides its limbs, he withdraws his senses from the objects of sense, then is his understanding well-poised.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 55.
When also, like the tortoise its limbs, he can completely withdraw the senses from their objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.
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Bhagavad Gita 2.58
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः ।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥
“A man's mind is steady, when he withdraws his senses from (all) objects of sense, as the tortoise (withdraws) its limbs from all sides.”
(Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882, public domain)
“When, again, as a tortoise draws in on all sides its limbs, he withdraws his senses from the objects of sense, then is his understanding well-poised.”
(Annie Besant, 1895, public domain)
“When also, like the tortoise its limbs, he can completely withdraw the senses from their objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.”
(Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907), public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/2/58/?s=copy Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes Telang (1882). If you chose another translation above, the text quotes yours and no picture is offered.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep with AI help and reviewed. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 2.58?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 2 (Sankhya Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep with AI help and reviewed. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site with AI help from the sources listed here, and reviewed. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Sanskrit text
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Used only to date the text. The Devanagari on this page is a reading text and is not copied from this printing.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site with AI help from the sources listed here, and reviewed. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Review
- AI review: 2 independent reviews against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.