A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Steadiness becomes pure when it keeps the whole being aligned.”
O Partha, that steadfastness by which one holds steady the functions of mind, life-force, and senses through unwavering yoga is sattvic steadfastness.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyby steadfastness · by which · one holds steady · the activities of mind, life-force, and senses · through yoga · unwavering · steadfastness · that · O Partha · sattvic
True steadfastness is the power to keep the mind, life-force, and senses steady through yoga, without wavering.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 33 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
Before a board exam, a student sits for ten minutes each morning, slows her breath and returns her attention to the page whenever it wanders. Krishna calls that sattvic steadiness: mind, breath and senses held firm by practice.
Did you like this verse?
Sattvic dhriti holds mind, breath and senses steady through unwavering yoga, Krishna tells Arjuna.
What this verse means
True steadfastness is the power to keep the mind, life-force, and senses steady through yoga, without wavering.
Context & commentary
Krishna now explains what real firmness looks like: the steady holding of mind, breath, and senses through yoga, which has nothing to do with stubbornness. This verse names the pure form of that inner strength.
What it looks like today
Before a board exam, a student sits for ten minutes each morning, slows her breath and returns her attention to the page whenever it wanders. Krishna calls that sattvic steadiness: mind, breath and senses held firm by practice.
“You do not need to be pulled around by every urge. Steadiness itself is a form of strength.”
Explore related themes: manas (49 verses), indriya (19 verses)