Sanskrit
नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः । न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥
nātyaśnatas tu yogo'sti na caikāntam anaśnataḥ na cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna
Translation
Verily yoga is not for him who eateth too much, nor who abstaineth to excess, nor who is too much addicted to sleep, nor even to wakefulness, O Arjuna.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The famous moderation verse, and it’s a direct rebuke of ascetic extremism — yoga fails equally for overindulgence and for excessive abstinence, whether in food or in sleep. Verse 17 gives the positive restatement of the same principle.
Concepts