Sanskrit
असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः । वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायतः ॥
asaṃyatātmanā yogo duṣprāpa iti me matiḥ vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo'vāptum upāyataḥ
Translation
Yoga is hard to attain, methinks, by a self that is uncontrolled; but by the Self-controlled it is attainable by properly directed energy.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna restates verse 35’s concession-then-answer pattern using the self/Self vocabulary from verses 5–7: yoga is genuinely hard, even impossible, for the unmastered self, but attainable for one who works at self-mastery with proper method. The emphasis on method, not raw effort, sets up the next section’s turn to Arjuna’s deeper worry. Upāyataḥ — “by the [right] means” — is the load-bearing word: the difference between duṣprāpa and śakya is not more willpower but a workable technique, which is what verses 10–26 supplied.
Study deeper
Word by word
- asaṃyatātmanā yogoअसंयतात्मना योगो
- for one of unmastered self, yoga (asaṃyata-ātmanā + yogaḥ)
- duṣprāpa iti me matiḥदुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः
- is hard to attain — such is my view (duṣprāpaḥ + iti + me + matiḥ)
- vaśyātmanā tu yatatāवश्यात्मना तु यतता
- but for one of mastered self, striving (vaśya-ātmanā + tu + yatatā)
- śakyo'vāptum upāyataḥशक्योऽवाप्तुं उपायतः
- it is possible to attain, by [right] means (śakyaḥ + avāptum + upāyataḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Verse 35 named the tools (practice, dispassion); this verse adds something neither tool guarantees on its own — proper method (upāyataḥ). Effort without method and dispassion without direction can both be sincere and still fail; the verse is careful to credit not raw striving but properly directed striving, a distinction that matters as much in practice as in theory.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Don't just try harder at a habit you're struggling to build — check whether your method is actually right for the obstacle, since sincere effort aimed at the wrong technique can fail exactly as often as no effort at all.
Professional
- When a team is working hard but not making progress, the fix usually isn't 'push harder' — it's checking whether the method itself is sound. Properly directed effort beats raw effort every time, and this verse insists on naming that difference explicitly.
Family & Social
- If you're putting real effort into a relationship but it isn't improving, consider that the effort might need a different method, not more intensity — sincere trying aimed the wrong way can stall as badly as not trying.
Ask yourself
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