प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ ॥
Leaving outer objects outside, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, and balancing the inward and outward breaths moving through the nose.
A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Outer restraint and balanced breath prepare the mind for freedom.”
Leaving outer objects outside, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, and balancing the inward and outward breaths moving through the nose.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyouter contacts · having made · outside · outer · the eyes · and indeed · between · the eyebrows · the inward and outward breaths · equal · having made · moving within the nose
Withdraw the senses from outer objects, steady the gaze, and balance the breath. This prepares the mind for deep inward focus.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (The Yoga of Renunciation).
Verse 27 sits in Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "The Yoga of Renunciation". The chapter has 29 verses in total.
You sit in the car before walking into a room where one conversation could change everything. Before the door opens, you breathe, settle your eyes, and stop feeding the noise.
Did you like this verse?
Krishna gives a method: shut out outer objects, fix the gaze between the eyebrows, even out the breath.
What this verse means
Withdraw the senses from outer objects, steady the gaze, and balance the breath. This prepares the mind for deep inward focus.
Context & commentary
After describing the liberated one, Krishna gives the practical method: withdraw the senses, steady the eyes, and regulate the breath. It is a supporting step in a larger discipline.
What it looks like today
You sit in the car before walking into a room where one conversation could change everything. Before the door opens, you breathe, settle your eyes, and stop feeding the noise.
“Stillness begins with deliberate restraint, not with forcing the mind to obey.”