Verse 6.16

नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः ।

न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥

6.16

Transliteration

nātyaśnatastu yogo'sti na caikāntamanaśnataḥ |

na cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna ||

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

Translation

Verily Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all, nor for him who sleeps too much, nor for him who is (always) awake, O Arjuna.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

not
too much
for one who eats
indeed
yoga
is
not
and
at all
for one who does not eat

not
and
for one who sleeps too much
for one who stays awake too much
not
indeed
and
O Arjuna

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

Explanation

After describing the practice, Krishna warns against extremes. Yoga does not succeed for one who eats too much or for one who fasts completely, nor for one who sleeps too much or for one who keeps awake too long. This is a striking statement in a tradition where severe austerity was often admired. The Gita insists that the body must be neither indulged nor punished if the mind is to be steady. The verse sets up the positive principle of measure that follows.