Bhagavad Gita 6.26: meaning and translation
Chapter 6: Dhyana Yoga. Krishna says
Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders off, Krishna says, he should draw it back from there and bring it under the control of the self alone.
Click or tap a word for its meaning and its dictionary page.
Text and layers
Text and layers
These choices stay in this browser.
Bhagavad Gita 6.26
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ।ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
Yato yato nishcharati manashchanchalamasthiramTatastato niyamyaitadatmanyeva vasham nayet
yato yato niścarati manaścañcalamasthiram |tatastato niyamyaitadātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet ||
Our explanation Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders off, Krishna says, he should draw it back from there and bring it under the control of the self alone.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि चंचल और अस्थिर मन जहाँ-जहाँ भटके, वहाँ-वहाँ से उसे लौटाकर आत्मा के ही वश में लाना चाहिए।
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- यतः yataḥ · from wherever (indeclinable) Dictionary: yatas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 841, col. 2 “from which or what, whence, whereof, wherefrom”
- यतः yataḥ · from wherever (indeclinable) Dictionary: yatas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 841, col. 2 “from which or what, whence, whereof, wherefrom”
- निश्चरति niścarati · wanders off (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: niś-car, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 561, col. 1 “to come forth, go out, issue out, proceed”
- मनः manaḥ · the mind (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: manas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 783, col. 3 “mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers)”
- चञ्चलम् cañcalam · restless (adjective (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: cañcala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 382, col. 2 “moving to and fro, movable, unsteady, shaking”
- अस्थिरम् asthiram · unsteady (adjective (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: a-sthira, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 123, col. 1 “unsteady, trembling, shaking”
- ततः tataḥ · from there (indeclinable) Dictionary: tatas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 432, col. 2 “thereupon, then, after that”
- ततः tataḥ · from there (indeclinable) Dictionary: tatas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 432, col. 2 “thereupon, then, after that”
- नियम्य niyamya · drawing it back (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: ni-yam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 552, col. 1 “hold back”
- एतत् etat · it (pronoun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: etad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 231, col. 2 “this, this here, here”
- आत्मनि ātmani · in the self (noun (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: ātman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 135, col. 1 “the individual soul, self”
- एव eva · alone (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- वशम् vaśam · under control (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. vaśa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 929, col. 2 “authority, power, control, dominion”
- नयेत् nayet · should bring (optative, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 2. nī, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 565, col. 1 “to bring into any state or condition”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 70.
Wherever the active and unsteady mind breaks forth1, there one should ever restrain it, and fix it steadily on the self alone.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 106. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 70.
Wherever the active and unsteady mind breaks forth1, there one should ever restrain it, and fix it steadily on the self alone.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 106. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 70.
Whensoever the wavering and unsteady Manas goeth forth, then let him rein it in, and replace it, subdued, in the SELF.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 133.
Through whatever reason the restless, unsteady mind wanders away, let him curbing it from that, bring it under the subjugation of the Self alone.
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), p. 70. Bhagavad Gita 6.26.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 70. Bhagavad Gita 6.26.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 133. Bhagavad Gita 6.26.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 6.26: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/6/26/
Pujadeep’s explanations are free to quote with credit: name Pujadeep and link to the page. How to credit
Classical readings, by school
No readings by school on this verse yet.
Share
Show the ways to share
Send one picture or the text to one chat. The picture names its source and the address of this page.
Drawing the picture
See the words
Bhagavad Gita 6.26
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ।
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
“Wherever the active and unsteady mind breaks forth, there one should ever restrain it, and fix it steadily on the self alone.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 70, public domain)
“Whensoever the wavering and unsteady Manas goeth forth, then let him rein it in, and replace it, subdued, in the SELF.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 70, public domain)
“Through whatever reason the restless, unsteady mind wanders away, let him curbing it from that, bring it under the subjugation of the Self alone.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 133, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/6/26/ 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 6.26?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 6 (Dhyana 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