In plain words
Manas is restless indeed, Krishna—turbulent, powerful, and stubborn. I think controlling it is as difficult as controlling the wind.
Word for word
For the mind is restless, O Kṛṣṇa, turbulent, strong, firm; I consider its control very hard to do, like [that] of the wind.
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम्तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्
Other commentaries
The commentators
▸Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
प्रसिद्धमेतत् —
चञ्चलं हि मनः । कृष्ण इति कृषतेः विलेखनार्थस्य रूपम् । भक्तजनपापादिदोषाकर्षणात् कृष्णः, तस्य सम्बुद्धिः हे कृष्ण । हि यस्मात् मनः चञ्चलं न केवलमत्यर्थं चञ्चलम् , प्रमाथि च प्रमथनशीलम् , प्रमथ्नाति शरीरम् इन्द्रियाणि च विक्षिपत् सत् परवशीकरोति । किञ्च — बलवत् प्रबलम् , न केनचित् नियन्तुं शक्यम् , दुर्निवारत्वात् । किञ्च — दृढं तन्तुनागवत् अच्छेद्यम् । तस्य एवंभूतस्य मनसः अहं निग्रहं निरोधं मन्ये वायोरिव यथा वायोः दुष्करो निग्रहः ततोऽपि दुष्करं मन्ये इत्यभिप्रायः ॥ ३४ ॥
In plain words
This much is already known —
‘The mind is truly restless.’ ‘Kṛṣṇa’ comes from the root ‘kṛṣ,’ meaning to draw out or scrape away—he is called Kṛṣṇa because he draws out the sins and faults of his devotees; its vocative form is ‘O Kṛṣṇa.’ Because the mind is restless—not just restless, but turbulent, agitating by its very nature—it churns up the body and the senses, scattering them, and pulls them under its own sway. What's more, it's strong, very powerful, impossible for anyone to hold in check, because it's so hard to resist. And it's tough too, like a strong hempen rope that can't be cut. Restraining a mind like that, I consider, is like restraining the wind—and just as restraining the wind is difficult, I consider this even more difficult still. That's the intended sense.
Close to the Sanskrit
Well-known [is] this —
‘The mind is indeed restless.’ ‘Kṛṣṇa’ is a form from the root ‘kṛṣ,’ having the meaning ‘to draw out, to scrape’; from drawing out the sins and other faults of devoted people, he is called ‘Kṛṣṇa’; its vocative form is ‘O Kṛṣṇa.’ For, since the mind is restless—not merely exceedingly restless—but also ‘turbulent,’ i.e. of the nature of agitating; it agitates the body and the senses, and, distracting them, being so, subjugates them. Moreover, ‘strong,’ i.e. very powerful, not possible to be restrained by anyone, because of being hard to check. Moreover, ‘firm,’ like a rope of tough fiber, that cannot be cut. Of that mind, being of such a nature, I consider the restraint, i.e. control, like that of the wind—just as the restraint of the wind is difficult, even more difficult than that do I consider this—this is the intended sense.
▸Gītā Vāhini
“కృష్ణా! నీవు చెప్పెడి ప్రతి విషయము వినుటకు హాయి గానూ, అనుభవించుటకు ఆనందముగానూ ఉన్నవి కానీ, ఆచరించ అందరికీ సులభసాధ్యము కానివై యున్నవి. సమత్వరూపమైన యోగము సర్వశక్తిమయులైన సాధకులకే కష్టముగా ఉంటే సామాన్యులైన మాబోటి వారలకు ఇది సాధ్యమా? సాధన అటుంచి, మనస్సు మాత్రము సామాన్యమైనదా కృష్ణా? అబ్బా! దాని బలము ఏనుగులకు కూడా లేదు. దాని చంచలమా, పుట్టిన యిల్లు, పెట్టిన పేరు దానికే చెల్లును. ఇక దాని క్షోభ చాల బలమైనది, గట్టిదైనది. అది పరమ గయ్యాళి, ఎవరికీ చిక్కదు, ఎక్కడా ఉండదు. మూటకట్టిన నీరు, పిడికిట పట్టిన గాలివలె పట్టసాధ్యము కానిదై యుండును. ఇట్టి మనస్సుతో అట్టి యోగమును సాధించ వీలగునా? రెండూ రెండే. గుండూ, బండవంటివి. వీటిని కరిగించవలెనన్న ఎట్టి వారికీ సాధ్యము కాదు, కృష్ణా!”
In plain words
“Kṛṣṇa! Everything you tell me is pleasant to hear and joyful to experience, but it is not easy for everyone to put into practice. If yoga, which is equanimity, is difficult even for sādhakas however mighty, is it possible for ordinary people like us? Leave sādhana aside: is the Manas itself an ordinary thing, Kṛṣṇa? Abbā! Not even elephants have its strength. And its fickleness! The house fickleness was born in, the name it was given, belong to the Manas alone. And its agitation is very powerful and stubborn. It is an utter shrew; no one can catch it, and it never stays anywhere. Like water tied in a bundle or air held in a fist, it cannot be grasped. With such a Manas, can one accomplish such a yoga? The two are alike. They are like a cannonball and a boulder. To melt them is not possible for anyone at all, Kṛṣṇa!”