Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 34

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम् । तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्

cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham | tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram

Translation

The mind verily, is, O Kṛṣṇa, restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. Thereof the restraint I deem quite as difficult as that of the wind.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

cañcalam

restless

hi

indeed

manaḥ

the mind

kṛṣṇa

O Kṛṣṇa

pramāthi

impetuous

balavat

strong

dṛḍham

hard

tasya

of it

aham

I

nigraham

gripping

manye

think

vāyoḥ

of the wind

iva

as

suduṣkaram

hard to be done

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

'Kṛṣṇa' is derived from 'kṛṣ' to scrape. Kṛṣṇa is so called because He scrapes or draws away all sins and other causes of evil from His devotees. Not only is the mind restless, but also turbulent: it agitates the body and the senses and makes them subject to foreign influences. To restrain the mind of such a nature is even more difficult than to restrain the wind.