Chapter VI · Śloka 35
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् ।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho
mano durnigrahaṃ calam |
abhyāsena tu kaunteya
vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||
mano durnigrahaṃ calam |
abhyāsena tu kaunteya
vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||
Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed one, the mind is difficult to restrain and restless — yet it is tamed, O son of Kuntī, through practice (abhyāsa) and dispassion (vairāgya).
Krishna affirms Arjuna's experience without minimising it, then offers the two classical instruments of yoga: abhyāsa (steady, repeated engagement) and vairāgya (non-attachment to the objects that pull the mind outward). Together they work as rudder and sail.