📿 Shloka Collection

Bandhuratmatmanas Tasya

Gita 6.6 Bhagavad Gita

📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6 — Atma Samyama Yoga

बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः ।

अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ॥

Bandhuraatmaatmanastasya yenaatmaivaatmanaa jitah

Anaatmanastu shatrutve vartetaatmaiva shatruvat

Word-by-Word Meaning

Bandhuh aatma

the self is a friend

Aatmanah tasya

for that person

Yena aatma eva

by whom the self itself

Aatmanaa jitah

has been conquered by oneself

Anaatmanah tu

but for one who has not conquered the self

Shatrutve varteta

behaves with enmity

Aatmaiva shatruvat

the self itself acts like an enemy

Explanation in Simple English

Krishna expands on the previous verse. The person who has mastered the mind finds it to be the most reliable companion. A disciplined mind brings clarity to decisions, peace to daily life, and steadiness in difficult moments.

But for the one who has not gained that mastery, the very same mind turns hostile. It lures toward wrong paths, amplifies greed, manufactures fear. The mind does not sit neutral — it is either working for you or working against you. There is no middle ground.

A horse that has been trained carries you wherever you need to go. An untrained horse throws you off and runs wild. The horse is the same in both cases. The difference is training. Krishna is saying: train your mind, and it becomes your greatest asset.

Context and Significance

Verse 6.5 said that the self is both friend and enemy. Verse 6.6 clarifies the deciding factor: whether the mind has been conquered or not. The tradition calls these two states jitatma (self-conquered) and ajitatma (self-unconquered).

This division — mastered mind versus unmastered mind — runs through the entire chapter. Everything that follows about meditation technique is aimed at moving from ajitatma to jitatma.

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