Shloka

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम् |
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ||६-३४||

Transliteration

cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham .
tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram ||6-34||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

6.34. O Krsna ! The mind is indeed unsteady, destructive, strong and obstinate; to control it, I believe, is very difficult, just as to control the wind.

Shri Purohit Swami

6.34 My Lord! Verily, the mind is fickle and turbulent, obstinate and strong, yea extremely difficult as the wind to control.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

6.33-34 Yo’ Yam etc. Cancalam etc. By this and which, the two words denoting [respectively] what is actually perceived and what is not perceived, the following is indicated : Thanks to the series of methods spoken just before by the Bhagavat, the Brahman is of course clear and has been no doubt shown as if by perception. Yet, It remains at agreat distance due to the unsteadiness and wickedness of the mind, and It behaves as if It is beyond perception. [Destructive] : The mind destroys both the visible and invisible [ends of man’s action]. Strong : Powerful. Obstinate : impossible to ward off from evil acts. Now the answer -

Sri Ramanuja

6.34 For the mind, which is found to be fickle even in matters incessantly practised, cannot be firmly fixed by a person in one place. It agitates that person violently and flies away stubbornly elsewhere. Regarding such a mind, which by nature is fickle even in matters practised, I regard that its restraint and fixing in the self, which is of ite opposite nature, is as difficult as restraining a strong contrary gale with such things as a fragile fan etc. The meaning is that the means for the restraint of the mind should be explained.

Sri Shankaracharya

6.34 Hi, for, O Krsna-the word krsna is derived from the root krs [Another derivative meaning may be-’the capacity to draw towards Himself all glorious things of this and the other world’.], in the sense of ‘uprooting’; He is Krsna because He uproots the defects such as sin etc. of devotees-; manah, the mind; is cancalam, unsteady. Not only is it very unsteady, it is also pramathi, turbulent. It torments, agitates, the body and the organs. It brings them under extraneous control. Besides, it is balavat, strong, not amenable ot anybody’s restraint. Again, it is drdham, obstinate, hard as the (large shark called) Tantu-naga (also known as Varjuna-pasa). Aham, I; manye, consider; tasya, its-of the mind which is of this kind; nigrahah, control, restraint; to be (suduskaram, greatly difficult;) vayoh iva, as of the wind. Control of the wind is difficult. I consider the control of the mind to be even more difficult than that. This is the idea. ‘This is just as you say.’

Swami Adidevananda

6.34 For the mind is fickle, O Krsna, impetuous, powerful and stubborn. I think that restraint of it is as difficult as that of the wind.

Swami Gambirananda

6.34 For, O Krsna, the mind is unsteady, turbulent, strong and obstinate. I consider its control to be as greatly difficult as of the wind.

Swami Sivananda

6.34 The mind verily is restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding, O Krishna: I deem it as difficult to control it as to control the wind.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

6.34 चञ्चलम् restless? हि verily? मनः the mind? कृष्ण O Krishna? प्रमाथि turbulent? बलवत् strong? दृढम् unyielding? तस्य of it? अहम् I? निग्रहम् control? मन्ये think? वायोः of the wind? इव as? सुदुष्करम् difficult to do.Commentary The mind constantly changes its objects and so it is ever restless.Krishna is derived from Krish which means to scrape. He scrapes all the sins? evils? and the causes of evil from the hearts of His devotees. Therefore He is called Krishna.The mind is not only restless but also turbulent or impetuous? strong and obstinate. It produces violent agitation in the body and the senses. The mind is drawn by the objects in all directions. It works always in conjunction with the five senses. It is drawn by them to the five kinds of objects. Therefore it is ever restless. It enjoys the five kinds of sensobjects with the help of these senses and the body. Therefore it makes them subject to external influences. It is even more difficult to control it than to control the wind. The mind is born of Vayutanmatra (wind rootelement). That is the reason why it is as restless as the wind.