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Bhagavad-gītā 18.33

धृत्या यया धारयते मन:प्राणेन्द्रियक्रिया: । योगेनाव्यभिचारिण्या धृति: सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥ ३३ ॥
dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate
[dhrityaa yayaa dhaarayate]
manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ
[manah-praanendriya-kriyaah]
yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā
[yogenaavyabhichaarinyaa]
dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
[dhritih saa paartha saattvikee]
Word-for-word
dhṛtyā — determination yayā — by which dhārayate — one sustains manaḥ — of the mind prāṇa — life indriya — and senses kriyāḥ — the activities yogena — by yoga practice avyabhicāriṇyā — without any break dhṛtiḥ — determination sā — that pārtha — O son of Pṛthā sāttvikī — in the mode of goodness .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate
dhṛtyā
determination
yayā
by which
dhārayate
one sustains
manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ
manaḥ
of the mind
prāṇa
life
yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā
indriya
and senses
kriyāḥ
the activities
yogena
by yoga practice
avyabhicāriṇyā
without any break
dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
dhṛtiḥ
determination
sā
that
pārtha
O son of Pṛthā
sāttvikī
in the mode of goodness .
Important Words
  • dhṛtyā — by determination
    Instrumental. The very faculty being classified is also the instrument of its own work. Dhṛti sustains itself by acting as dhṛti.
  • yogena — by yoga (practice)
    Instrumental. The sāttvika dhṛti is not raw willpower — it is sustained *by yoga*. Practice, regulation, sādhana feed it. Without yoga, dhṛti decays.
  • avyabhicāriṇyā — unbroken, unfaltering
    Compound — without vyabhicāra (deviation). The dhṛti does not stray. It holds the line without slipping into rajas or tamas under pressure.
  • kriyāḥ — the activities
    Plural — the activities (of mind, prāṇa, and senses). Sāttvika dhṛti governs all three together — mental restlessness, prāṇic disorder, and sensory wandering — through a single sustained discipline.
  • sāttvikī — in the mode of goodness
    The classification. The highest of the three forms of dhṛti — the one that yields actual progress on the path.
O son of Pṛthā, that determination which is unbreakable, which is sustained with steadfastness by yoga practice, and which thus controls the activities of the mind, life and senses is determination in the mode of goodness.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Sāttvika resolve is the steady grip — through yoga, unwavering — by which mind, life-breath, and senses are held to their proper channels. Discipline as continuous, calm, focused effort.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Dhṛti is the staying-power that holds practice together when novelty fades. 'Avyabhicāriṇī' (faithful, not straying) is borrowed from devotional/marital vocabulary — sāttvika resolve is married to its purpose. The three faculties named (manas, prāṇa, indriya) cover the entire psycho-physical apparatus.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे पार्थ! यया अव्यभिचारिण्या धृत्या योगेन मनः-प्राण-इन्द्रिय-क्रियाः धारयते, सा धृतिः सात्त्विकी ।
he pārtha! yayā avyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtyā yogena manaḥ-prāṇa-indriya-kriyāḥ dhārayate, sā dhṛtiḥ sāttvikī |
O Pārtha, that unwavering determination by which, through yoga, one sustains the activities of mind, prāṇa, and senses — is sāttvikī.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
धृत्या यया धारयते मनः-प्राण-इन्द्रिय-क्रियाः । योगेन अव्यभिचारिण्या धृतिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥
dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥ-prāṇa-indriya-kriyāḥ | yogena avyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
धृत्या dhṛtyā धृति (f.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) by determination
यया yayā यद् (pron. (pronoun)) ins.sg. (instrumental singular)f. by which
धारयते dhārayate √धृ caus. (causative) pres. (present) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) sustains
मनः-प्राण-इन्द्रिय-क्रियाः manaḥ-prāṇa-indriya-kriyāḥ dvandva-tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) acc.pl. (accusative plural)f. activities of mind, prāṇa, senses
योगेन yogena योग (m.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) by yoga
अव्यभिचारिण्या avyabhicāriṇyā अ + वि + अभि + √चर् → अव्यभिचारिणी (adj.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular)f. unwavering
धृतिः dhṛtiḥ धृति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) determination
सा sā तद् (pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)f. that
पार्थ pārtha पार्थ (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) O Pārtha
सात्त्विकी sāttvikī सात्त्विकी (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)f. sāttvikī
Purport

Yoga is a means to understand the Supreme Soul. One who is steadily fixed in the Supreme Soul with determination, concentrating one’s mind, life and sensory activities on the Supreme, engages in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That sort of determination is in the mode of goodness. The word avyabhicāriṇyā is very significant, for it indicates that persons who are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are never deviated by any other activity.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
33. Determination by which one restrains the activities of the mind, life airs and senses, using unswerving concentration of mind, is in the mode of sattva.
Commentary

Three types of determination are now described.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
33. Determination by which one engages the mind, life airs and senses in activities of yoga, using unswerving concentration of mind on the Lord, is in the mode of sattva.
Commentary

Three verses now describe determination in the three modes. That determination is in the mode of goodness by which a person continues to engage the mind, prāṇas and senses in activities of yoga. What type of yoga is it? It is contemplating the Supreme Lord, without accepting any other object (yogena avyabhicāriṇyā).

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Determination in goodness

Determination which is unbreakable
Sustained with steadfastness by yoga practice
Controls the activities of the mind, life and senses
Significance of the word “avyabhicarinya” – It indicates that persons who are engaged in Krishna consciousness are never deviated by any other activity
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
18.33 O Partha, dhrtya, the firmness; (-is connected with the remote word) avyabhicarinya, that is unfailing; yogena, through concentration, i.e. (the firmness that is) ever associated with samadhi (absorption in Brahman); yaya, with which; dharayate, one restrains;-what?-manah-prana-indriya-kriyah, the functions of the mind, vital forces and organs-restrains them from tending towards the path opposed to the scriptures-. Indeed, when restrained with firmness, they do not incline towards objects prohibited by the scriptures. Sa, that; dhrtih, firmness, which is of this kind; is sattviki, born of sattva. What is mean is that when one restrains the functions of the mind, vital forces and organs with unfailing firmness, one does so through yoga, concentration.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
18.33 That Dhrti by which one through unswerving Yoga sustains the activities of the mind and the vital force and the sense-organs is said to be of the nature of Sattva. 'Yoga is worship of the Lord which forms the means for release. The meaning is that the Dhrti or fortitude by means of which one sustains the activities of the mind and other organs in the practice of Yoga (worship) until one's object is accomplished, is of the nature of Sattva.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
18.33 See Comment under 18.35
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
18.33 The unwavering firmness by which, through Yoga, the functions of the mind, the life-force and the senses are restrained that firmness, O Arjuna, is Sattvic (pure).
Commentary

18.33 धृत्या by firmness? यया (by) which? धारयते holds? मनःप्राणेन्द्रियक्रियाः the functions of the mind? the Prana and the senses? योगेन by Yoga? अव्यभिचारिण्या unswerving? धृतिः firmness? सा that? पार्थ O Arjuna? सात्त्विकी Sattvic (pure).Commentary When firmness is awakened in the mind? the activities of the mind? the lifeforce and the senses are brought under control. The senses are withdrawn into the mind. The Prana and the Apana pass into the Sushumna Nadi.Yoga Samadhi or concentration of the mind. You cannot restrain the mind? the lifeforce and the senses by mere firmness. You can control them only by firmness which is ever accompanied by concentration of the mind.When the mind? the lifeforce and the senses are curbed by unwarvering firmness? they cannot run towards external sensual objects? they cannot do any mischief? they cannot move in ways which are opposed to the scriptures? they will be absorbed into their respective causes and their outgoing tendencies will be totally checked.This firmness is not repression or suppression? but an intelligent sublimation and inner transformation.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.33 O Partha, the firmness that is unfailing through concentration, with which one restrains the functions of the mind, vital forces and the organs, that firmness is born of sattva.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
18.33 The conviction and steady concentration by which the mind, the vitality and the senses are controlled - O Arjuna! They are the product of Purity.
Related values & verses
Primary values
Dhriti (Resilience / Steadfastness / Fortitude)
Related values
Dhairya (Composure / Courage)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)
Related verses
BG 6.25 BG 8.12 BG 2.58 SB 11.25.28 SB 11.14.27 SB 11.20.21 CC Madhya 22.78 CC Antya 6.313 CC Madhya 24.211 BRS 1.4.15 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.3.11
Concepts
Sattva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Determination unbreakable, sustained by yoga-practice, controlling activities of mind, life, senses — sattvic.
Practical Applications
  • Cultivate determination that yoga-practice sustains, not willpower alone.
  • Use yoga as the support of determination.
  • Don't run on willpower fumes.
Reflection Questions
  • Where has determination lapsed because yoga-practice did?
  • What restoration is mine?
Analogy

A dam built so well that the river runs through its sluices precisely when and where it is meant to. Sāttvika dhṛti is the dam-builder's steady hand on mind, prāṇa, and senses — never letting them flood the field, never letting them dry it out.

Stories
Haridāsa Ṭhākura's three-lakh names

Haridāsa Ṭhākura held to the vow of three hundred thousand names of Kṛṣṇa daily without break, through poverty, persecution by Muslim authorities, attempts on his life, and the deliberate seduction sent by Rāmacandra Khān. Mind, prāṇa, and senses were held steady by yoga without slippage.

This avyabhicāriṇī dhṛti — unbreakable, sustained by yoga, ruling the three internal organs of action — is precisely what 18.33 names. Haridāsa is the verse's living form in Gauḍīya history.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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