A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“A steady mind begins with a steady seat.”
Having placed a firm seat for himself on a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, with cloth, deerskin, and kusha grass laid in layers.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyon a clean · place · having placed · firm · seat · for oneself · not · too high · not · too low · with cloth, deerskin, and kusha grass laid above
Choose a clean, steady seat that is neither too high nor too low, and prepare it with cloth, deerskin, and kusha grass.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Dhyana Yoga" (The Yoga of Meditation).
Verse 11 sits in Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita — Dhyana Yoga, "The Yoga of Meditation". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
You can follow this in a small flat: a clean corner, a folded mat on a firm floor, a seat that neither wobbles nor perches you up high. Krishna starts meditation with that much care for the seat.
Did you like this verse?
Kusha grass, deerskin and cloth in layers, on clean ground, neither too high nor too low: Krishna's meditation seat.
What this verse means
Choose a clean, steady seat that is neither too high nor too low, and prepare it with cloth, deerskin, and kusha grass.
Context & commentary
Krishna teaches Arjuna how to meditate after the war has frozen in his heart. Before the mind can be gathered, the body needs a clean, steady seat in a quiet place. This verse prepares the ground for practice.
What it looks like today
You can follow this in a small flat: a clean corner, a folded mat on a firm floor, a seat that neither wobbles nor perches you up high. Krishna starts meditation with that much care for the seat.
“Inner training begins with a stable place. Even the body must be settled before the mind can quiet down.”
Explore related themes: dhyana (31 verses)