6.17

Sanskrit

युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु । युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥

yuktāhāravihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya karmasu yuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā

Translation

Yoga killeth out all pain for him who is regulated in eating and amusement, regulated in performing actions, regulated in sleeping and waking.

Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain

Explanation

The positive mirror of verse 16 — regulation (yukta), not deprivation, is the operative word three times over: eating and recreation, action, sleeping and waking. Yoga is framed here in purely functional terms, as what kills off duhkha (pain and sorrow), not as an experience to chase for its own sake.