Bhagavad Gita 5.27: meaning and translation
Chapter 5: Karma Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna begins to describe meditation, which chapter 6 teaches at length.
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Bhagavad Gita 5.27
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः ।प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ ॥
Sparshankritva bahirbahyanshchakshushchaivantare bhruvohPranapanau samau kritva nasabhyantaracharinau
sparśānkṛtvā bahirbāhyāṃścakṣuścaivāntare bhruvoḥ |prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantaracāriṇau ||
Our explanation Krishna begins to describe meditation, which chapter 6 teaches at length. The meditator keeps outside contacts outside, fixes the gaze between the eyebrows, and makes the in-breath and out-breath (prāṇa and apāna) even as they move through the nostrils. The sentence continues in the next verse.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण ध्यान का वर्णन शुरू करते हैं, जिसे अध्याय 6 विस्तार से सिखाता है। ध्यान करने वाला बाहरी विषयों के स्पर्श को बाहर ही रखता है, दृष्टि को भौंहों के बीच टिकाता है, और नासिका में चलने वाली प्राण और अपान (भीतर और बाहर जाने वाली साँस) को सम करता है। यह वाक्य अगले श्लोक में पूरा होता है।
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Word by word
- स्पर्शान् sparśān · contacts (accusative plural) Dictionary: sparśa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1269, col. 1 “touch, sense of touch”
- कृत्वा kṛtvā · making (absolutive ('having done')) Dictionary: 1. kṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 301, col. 1 “to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect”
- बहिः bahiḥ · outside (indeclinable) Dictionary: bahis, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 726, col. 3 “out, forth”
- बाह्यान् bāhyān · outer (accusative plural) Dictionary: bāhya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 730, col. 3 “being outside”
- चक्षुः cakṣuḥ · the gaze (accusative singular (neuter)) Dictionary: cakṣus, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 382, col. 2 “the eye”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- एव eva · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- अन्तरे antare · between (locative singular) Dictionary: antara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 43, col. 3 “interior”
- भ्रुवोः bhruvoḥ · of the eyebrows (genitive dual) Dictionary: bhrū, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 770, col. 3 “an eyebrow”
- प्राणापानौ prāṇāpānau · the in-breath and the out-breath (compound, accusative dual) Dictionary: prāṇāpāna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 706, col. 1 “air inhaled and exhaled”
- समौ samau · even (accusative dual) Dictionary: 2. sama, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1152, col. 1 “even, smooth, flat”
- कृत्वा kṛtvā · making (absolutive ('having done')) Dictionary: 1. kṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 301, col. 1 “to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect”
- नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ nāsābhyantaracāriṇau · moving within the nostrils (compound, accusative dual) Dictionary: nāsā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 538, col. 1 “the nose”; abhy-antara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 75, col. 3 “interior, being inside”; cārin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 393, col. 3 “moving, walking”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 66–67.
The sage who excludes (from his mind) external objects, (concentrates) the visual power between the brows1, and making the upward and downward life-breaths even, confines their movements within the nose, who restrains senses, mind, and understanding2, whose highest goal is final emancipation, from whom desire, fear, and wrath have departed, is, indeed, for ever released (from birth and death).
This sentence covers verses 5.27 to 5.28.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 66–67.
The sage who excludes (from his mind) external objects, (concentrates) the visual power between the brows1, and making the upward and downward life-breaths even, confines their movements within the nose, who restrains senses, mind, and understanding2, whose highest goal is final emancipation, from whom desire, fear, and wrath have departed, is, indeed, for ever released (from birth and death).
This sentence covers verses 5.27 to 5.28.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 63.
Having made external contacts external, and with gaze fixed between the eyebrows; having made the outcoming and incoming breaths equal, sending both through the nostrils,
This sentence goes on in 5.28.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 119.
Shutting out external objects, steadying the eyes between the eyebrows, restricting the even currents of Prana and Apana inside the nostrils; the senses, mind, and intellect controlled, with Moksha as the supreme goal, freed from desire, fear and anger: such a man of meditation is verily free for ever.
This sentence covers verses 5.27 to 5.28.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), pp. 66–67. Bhagavad Gita 5.27–28.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 63. Bhagavad Gita 5.27.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 119. Bhagavad Gita 5.27–28.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 5.27: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/5/27/
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Bhagavad Gita 5.27
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः ।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ ॥
“The sage who excludes (from his mind) external objects, (concentrates) the visual power between the brows, and making the upward and downward life-breaths even, confines their movements within the nose, who restrains senses, mind, and understanding, whose highest goal is final emancipation, from whom desire, fear, and wrath have departed, is, indeed, for ever released (from birth and death).”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), pp. 66–67, public domain)
This sentence covers verses 5.27 to 5.28.
“Having made external contacts external, and with gaze fixed between the eyebrows; having made the outcoming and incoming breaths equal, sending both through the nostrils,”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 63, public domain)
This sentence goes on in 5.28.
“Shutting out external objects, steadying the eyes between the eyebrows, restricting the even currents of Prana and Apana inside the nostrils; the senses, mind, and intellect controlled, with Moksha as the supreme goal, freed from desire, fear and anger: such a man of meditation is verily free for ever.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 119, public domain)
This sentence covers verses 5.27 to 5.28.
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/5/27/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 5.27?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 5 (Karma Sannyasa 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 and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. 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.
- Translation
- 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. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- 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 from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026