अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् ।अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय ॥
atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram |abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptuṃ dhanañjaya ||
- अथ · atha
- but if
- चित्तम् · cittam
- the mind
- समाधातुम् · samādhātum
- to fix steadily
- न शक्नोषि · na śaknoṣi
- you cannot
- स्थिरम् · sthiram
- steady, firm
- अभ्यासयोगेन · abhyāsa-yogena
- by the discipline of practice
- आप्तुम् इच्छ · āptum iccha
- seek to reach
- धनञ्जय · dhanañjaya
- O Dhananjaya
“But if you cannot hold your thought steady upon me, then seek to reach me by the discipline of repeated practice, O Dhananjaya.”
— Original plain-language translation
The ladder of alternatives begins: steady absorption first, then repeated practice (abhyasa) for the unsteady. Krishna meets failure without reproach — each rung down is still a way up.
— Reader's notes (original)