Sanskrit
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम् । तस्याऽहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyor iva suduṣkaram
Translation
For the mind is verily restless, O Krishna; it is impetuous, strong and difficult to bend. I deem it as hard to curb as the wind.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna’s wind simile answers verse 19’s lamp simile almost point for point — where Krishna described the trained mind as a flame undisturbed by wind, Arjuna describes the untrained mind as being like the wind itself, something no one has ever actually caught and held. It’s a sharp piece of argument, not just a complaint. Turning Krishna’s own image back on him — the mind isn’t the flame, it’s the wind — is a genuine debating move. It forces the answer at BG 6.35 to be a method, not a reassurance.
Study deeper
Word by word
- cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇaचञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण
- the mind is restless, O Krishna (cañcalam + hi + manaḥ + kṛṣṇa)
- pramāthi balavad dṛḍhamप्रमाथि बलवद् दृढं
- turbulent, strong, obstinate (pramāthi + balavat + dṛḍham)
- tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manyeतस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये
- its restraint, I think (tasya + aham + nigraham + manye)
- vāyor iva suduṣkaramवायोः इव सुदुष्करं
- as hard as [holding] the wind (vāyoḥ + iva + su-duṣkaram)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Arjuna doesn’t counter Krishna’s flame image with a counter-argument — he counters it with another image, matching figure for figure. Answering someone’s metaphor with a better metaphor, rather than switching into abstract argument, is itself a form of respect for how the original claim was made — and it’s often the sharpest way to make a real objection land.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you disagree with an idea someone framed vividly — a metaphor, a story — try answering in the same concrete register rather than retreating into abstract argument. A well-matched counter-image often makes your real objection land harder than a dry rebuttal would.
Professional
- If a leader pitches a vision using a strong analogy and you disagree, respond with an equally concrete counter-example rather than abstract pushback — matching their own mode of argument is often the fastest way to get a real hearing.
Family & Social
- When someone close to you makes their point with a vivid comparison, meet it with your own concrete example instead of a flat 'I disagree' — arguing in kind tends to be heard, where an abstract objection often just gets talked past.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.