Bhagavad-gītā 6.13
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समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः। संप्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन्।।6.13।।
samaṁ kāya-śhiro-grīvaṁ dhārayann achalaṁ sthiraḥ samprekṣhya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśhaśh chānavalokayan
Let him hold his body, head, and neck erect, motionless and steady; let him look fixedly at the tip of his nose, turning neither to the right nor to the left.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| samam | straight |
| kāya | body |
| śhiraḥ | head |
| grīvam | neck |
| dhārayan | holding |
| achalam | unmoving |
| sthiraḥ | still |
| samprekṣhya | gazing |
| nāsika-agram | at the tip of the nose |
| svam | own |
| diśhaḥ | directions |
| cha | and |
| anavalokayan | not looking |
The Lord describes here the pose or Asana and the Drishti (gaze) in this verse. You cannot practise meditation without a firm seat.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Sequence preparation, discipline, mind, meditation, difficulty, failure and the chapter’s final comparison of yogīs.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaHolding the body, head, and neck erect and still, being steady, looking at the tip of his own nose and not looking around.
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaHolding the trunk, head, and neck erect, motionless and steady, gazing at the tip of the nose and not looking in any direction;
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaThe Lord describes here the pose or Asana and the Drishti (gaze) in this verse. You cannot practise meditation without a firm seat.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Let him hold his body, head
- 2
neck erect, motionless and steady
- 3
let him look fixedly at the tip of his nose, turning neither to the right nor to the left
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