Chapter VI · Śloka 34
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् ।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa
pramāthi balavad dṛḍham |
tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye
vāyor iva suduṣkaram ||
pramāthi balavad dṛḍham |
tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye
vāyor iva suduṣkaram ||
For the mind is indeed restless, O Kṛṣṇa — turbulent, powerful, and stubborn. I think its restraint is as difficult as restraining the wind.
Three epithets — cañcala (restless), pramāthi (turbulent, torturing), balavat (powerful) — and one of the Gītā's most vivid similes compress centuries of meditators' frustration into two lines. Arjuna's candour makes the subsequent assurance from Krishna all the more credible.