6.16
नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः ।
न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥
nātyaśnatas tu yogo 'sti na caikāntam anaśnataḥ
na cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, and he names Arjuna.
The verse
Yoga is not for one who eats too much, Arjuna, nor for one who does not eat at all, nor for one given to too much sleep, nor indeed for one who stays awake.
नेपालीमा
योग धेरै खानेलाई हुँदैन, हे अर्जुन, न पटक्कै नखानेलाई, न धेरै सुत्नेलाई, न जाग्रतै बस्नेलाई।
Where it sits
The seat and the gaze could look like a special austerity. This verse refuses the extremes on either side of the body. The next verse says what measure looks like.
Split: न + अत्यश्नतः + तु + योगः + अस्ति + न + च + एकान्तम् + अनश्नतः + न + च + अति-स्वप्न-शीलस्य + जाग्रतः + न + एव + च + अर्जुन
na + atyaśnataḥ + tu + yogaḥ + asti + na + ca + ekāntam + anaśnataḥ + na + ca + ati-svapna-śīlasya + jāgrataḥ + na + eva + ca + arjuna
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| अत्यश्नतः | atyaśnataḥ | genitive singular | of one who eats too much. Present participle of aś (अश्), "eat." |
| तु | tu | indeclinable | and, but. |
| योगः | yogaḥ | nominative singular | yoga. |
| अस्ति | asti | present, 3rd singular | is. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| एकान्तम् | ekāntam | accusative as adverb | altogether, to the far end. |
| अनश्नतः | anaśnataḥ | genitive singular | of one who does not eat. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| अति-स्वप्न-शीलस्य | ati-svapna-śīlasya | genitive singular | of one whose habit is too much sleep. |
| जाग्रतः | jāgrataḥ | genitive singular | of one who stays awake. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | indeed. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| अर्जुन | arjuna | vocative | Arjuna. |
The phrases
yogaḥ na asti (योगः न अस्ति) is said of four genitives. Not of the one who eats too much. Not of the one who does not eat at all, ekāntam (एकान्तम्) pushing anaśnataḥ (अनश्नतः) to the extreme. Not of the one given to too much sleep. And not of the one who stays awake.
The verb is singular because yogaḥ (योगः) is the subject. The genitives are the people for whom it is not.
na atyaśnataḥ (न अत्यश्नतः) is nātyaśnataḥ (नात्यश्नतः). yogaḥ asti (योगः अस्ति) is yogo 'sti (योगोऽस्ति). na ca ekāntam (न च एकान्तम्) is na caikāntam (न चैकान्तम्). na ca ati (न च अति) is na cāti (न चाति). na eva ca arjuna (न एव च अर्जुन) is naiva cārjuna (नैव चार्जुन).
Sanskrit in this line
yogaḥ asti (योगः अस्ति) is recited yogo 'sti (योगोऽस्ति). When --aḥ (अः) meets a (अ), the visarga and the a (अ) of the first word become o (ओ), and the second a (अ) is not lost. It is written with the avagraha, ऽ, the mark of a dropped a (अ) that is still there. In roman letters that is yogo 'sti, with the apostrophe. The same mark returns at 6.23, 6.31, 6.32, 6.36, 6.41, 6.44, and 6.46.
Say it back
Four people yoga is not for. If anaśnataḥ (अनश्नतः) is praised as the ideal, the verse has been reversed.