Verse 12.9

अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् ।

अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय ॥

12.9

Transliteration

atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram |

abhyāsayogena tato māmicchāptuṃ dhanañjaya ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

If thou art unable to fix thy mind steadily on Me, then by the Yoga of constant practice do thou seek to reach Me, O Arjuna.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

if
mind
to fix steadily
not
you are able
on me
steadily

by the yoga of practice
then
me
seek
to reach
O Dhananjaya

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

If Arjuna cannot keep his mind steadily on Krishna, he should seek to reach him through abhyāsa-yoga, the yoga of practice (abhyāsa). Practice means patiently and repeatedly bringing the mind back to its object. This echoes the earlier teaching that the restless mind is mastered by practice and dispassion. The verse acknowledges that continuous absorption is not easy, and offers a disciplined method to approach it step by step. No one is turned away for lacking natural steadiness.