Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 16

नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः । न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन

nātyaśnatastu yogo'sti na caikāntamanaśnataḥ | na cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna

Translation

Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all, nor for him who is addicted to too much sleep, nor for him who is (ever) wakeful, O Arjuna.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

na

not

atyaśnataḥ

of the much-eating

tu

indeed

yogaḥ

yoga

asti

is

na

not

ca

and

ekāntam

solely (entirely)

anaśnataḥ

of the un-eating

na

not

ca

and

atisvapnaśīlasya

too much, to sleep, tendency, whose, his

jāgrataḥ

of the waking

na

not

eva

even

ca

and

arjuna

O Arjuna

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Eats too much: eats more food than what is suited to him. The Śruti says: "Whatever food is suited to oneself, that protects; it injures not. A greater quantity injures and a smaller quantity protects not" (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa). The Yogin should therefore eat neither more nor less than what is suitable. The Yoga-śāstra prescribes: "Half (the stomach) for food and condiments, the third (quarter) for water, and the fourth should be reserved for free motion of air."