A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Steady posture is the first gate to a steady mind.”
Holding the body, head, and neck straight and still, and gazing only at the tip of the nose without looking around.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallystraight/even · body-head-neck · holding · motionless · steady · gazing · tip of the nose · own · directions · and · not looking
Sit with your body straight and still. Keep your gaze fixed and do not let the eyes wander.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Dhyana Yoga" (The Yoga of Meditation).
Verse 13 sits in Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita — Dhyana Yoga, "The Yoga of Meditation". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
You sit down to breathe for five minutes, but your eyes keep jumping to the phone, the door, the clock. The practice starts when the body stops asking to escape.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts meditation from a vague idea to a concrete bodily discipline.
What this verse means
Sit with your body straight and still. Keep your gaze fixed and do not let the eyes wander.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is being taught how to meditate after the basic setup has been given. Krishna now moves from the seat and the breath of practice to the body's alignment, showing that inner training begins with disciplined stillness.
Why this verse still matters
You sit down to breathe for five minutes, but your eyes keep jumping to the phone, the door, the clock. The practice starts when the body stops asking to escape.
“Stillness begins with the body. A steady posture helps the mind stop scattering.”
Explore related themes: dhyana (31 verses)