Shloka 23

Dhyana Yoga — Atma Samyama Yoga

Devanagari script

तं विद्यात् दुःखसंयोगवियोगं योगसंज्ञितम् ॥ ६.२३ ॥

Transliteration

taṁ vidyāt duḥkhasaṁyogaviyogaṁ yogasaṁjñitam || 6.23 ||

Translation

Know that to be Yoga—the disunion from the union with sorrow.

Gita Press Meaning

उस (अवस्था) को दुःख के संयोग से वियोग—‘योग’ नाम से जानना चाहिए।

Critical Edition Meaning

One should know that (state) as ‘yoga’: the disconnection from the conjunction with suffering.

Comparative Note

The compound ‘दुःखसंयोगवियोग’ is interpreted as a technical redefinition: yoga is not merely union but also ‘severance’ from the linkage to suffering. Some translators stress ‘freedom from suffering’ while others stress ‘freedom from the causes/attachments that bind one to suffering’.

Word by Word

• तम्: that (state/thing)
• तम्: Karma
• Root: तद्

• विद्यात्: one should know
• Root: √विद् (ज्ञान)

• दुःखसंयोगवियोगम्: the separation from the conjunction with sorrow (i.e., disconnection from union with pain)
• दुःखसंयोगवियोगम्: Karma
• Root: दुःख-संयोग-वियोग (प्रातिपदिकम्)

• योगसंज्ञितम्: designated/called as ‘yoga’
• योगसंज्ञितम्: Karma
• Root: योग-संज्ञित (प्रातिपदिकम्)

Speakers

• Krishna

Primary Concepts

• Yoga (redefined)
• Duḥkha (suffering)
• Saṁyoga (conjunction/attachment)
• Viyoga (disjunction/detachment)

Key Themes

• Conceptual definition
• Detachment from suffering
• Soteriological aim

FAQs

Psychological significance?

It reframes liberation as changing one’s relationship to distress: reducing the mental ‘bond’ that turns difficult experiences into pervasive suffering.

Metaphysical meaning?

The verse implies that suffering is linked to misidentification and attachment (saṁyoga). Yoga is the undoing of that linkage through insight and disciplined practice.

Contextual relevance?

After describing the stable meditative state (6.20–22), Krishna names it: yoga, understood as freedom from the binding connection to suffering.

Modern Application?

Treat yoga as a method for weakening compulsive identification with thoughts and emotions—via meditation, ethical disciplines, and reflective inquiry.