A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“The mind is mastered by repeated return, not by force.”
Whenever the restless, unsteady mind wanders, bring it back under the control of the true self.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallywherever · wanders out · the mind · restless · unsteady · from there, from there · restraining · this · in the true self · only · under control · should bring
Each time the mind runs off, bring it back again and again to the true self.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Dhyana Yoga" (The Yoga of Meditation).
Verse 26 sits in Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita — Dhyana Yoga, "The Yoga of Meditation". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
You open your phone to check one message and lose twenty minutes. The practice is not to shame the drift — it is to notice it, and return.
Did you like this verse?
It trains the mind to recover quickly from distraction instead of obeying every impulse.
What this verse means
Each time the mind runs off, bring it back again and again to the true self.
Context & commentary
Krishna is still teaching Arjuna on the battlefield at Kurukshetra, where the warrior’s mind must be trained like a wild horse. After telling him to withdraw the mind from distraction, Krishna gives the practical method: every time it escapes, bring it back.
Why this verse still matters
You open your phone to check one message and lose twenty minutes. The practice is not to shame the drift — it is to notice it, and return.
“Progress comes from returning, not from never drifting.”
Explore related themes: manas (49 verses), dhyana (31 verses), self mastery (16 verses)