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← Chapter 18: The Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation

Verse 18.33

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

धृत्या यया धारयते मनःप्राणेन्द्रियक्रियाः | योगेनाव्यभिचारिण्या धृतिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ||३३||

Transliteration (IAST)

dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ | yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī ||33||

Word-by-Word Meanings

dhṛtyā-by fortitude
dhārayate-sustains/holds
manaḥ-mind
prāṇa-life-breath
indriya-senses
kriyāḥ-activities
yogena-through yoga
avyabhicāriṇyā-unwavering

Translation

The unwavering fortitude by which one sustains the activities of the mind, life-breath, and senses through yoga - that fortitude, O Partha, is sattvic.

Commentary

Sattvic fortitude is the unwavering will-power that maintains discipline over mind, prāṇa, and senses through yogic practice. Shankaracharya explains that 'avyabhicāriṇī' (unwavering) means this dhṛti never deviates from its purpose. Ramanuja notes that the three domains - mental, vital, and sensory - represent the complete field of self-mastery required for spiritual progress.

Themes

yogamoksha