Sanskrit
असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः । वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायतः ॥
asaṃyatātmanā yogo duṣprāpa iti me matiḥ vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo'vāptum upāyataḥ
Translation
Yoga is hard to attain, methinks, by a self that is uncontrolled; but by the Self-controlled it is attainable by properly directed energy.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna restates verse 35’s concession-then-answer pattern using the self/Self vocabulary from verses 5–7: yoga is genuinely hard, even impossible, for the unmastered self, but attainable for one who works at self-mastery with proper method. The emphasis on method, not raw effort, sets up the next section’s turn to Arjuna’s deeper worry.
Concepts