Sanskrit
सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च । मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ॥
sarvadvārāṇi saṃyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yogadhāraṇām
Translation
All the gates closed, the mind confined in the heart, the life-breath fixed in his own head, concentrated by yoga,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The “brief path” promised in verse 11 turns out to be a step-by-step withdrawal sequence: senses closed, mind gathered into the heart, life-breath drawn up to the head. This is classical pratyahara — sense-withdrawal — described as something actively held (yogadharanam), a discipline rather than a passive state, and the sentence continues directly into verse 13’s completion.
Concepts