Shloka 17
अक्षरब्रह्मयोगः | Akṣara-Brahma-Yoga
The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
हे अर्जुन! यह योग< न तो बहुत खानेवालेका, न बिलकुल न खानेवालेका, न बहुत शयन करनेके स्वभाव-वालेका और न सदा जागनेवालेका ही सिद्ध होता है? ।।
na aty-aśnatas tu yogo 'sti na ca ekāntam anaśnataḥ | na ca ati-svapna-śīlasya jāgrato na eva cārjuna || yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu | yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā ||
يا أرجونا! إن هذا الانضباط في اليوغا لا ينجح لمن يُفرِط في الطعام، ولا لمن يمتنع عن الطعام امتناعًا تامًّا؛ ولا ينجح لمن يكثر النوم، ولا لمن يظل ساهرًا بلا راحة. فاليوغا—مُزيلُ الحزن—تنبثق لمن يعتدل في الطعام والتنزه، ويقيس جهده في أداء الواجبات، وينظّم نومه ويقظته.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yoga succeeds through moderation: regulated eating and recreation, measured effort in one’s duties, and balanced sleep and wakefulness. Extremes—overindulgence or harsh deprivation—disturb steadiness of mind and obstruct the removal of sorrow.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra context, the dialogue turns to practical discipline. Arjuna voices (and the teaching emphasizes) that inner steadiness is supported by an orderly daily life, linking spiritual practice to ethical self-regulation rather than ascetic extremes.