allbig.in
Adhyāyas / Ātma-Saṁyama Yogaḥ / verse 11

Mūla — the verse

Gita Press numbering
शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मनः। नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम्
śhuchau deśhe pratiṣhṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ nātyuchchhritaṁ nāti-nīchaṁ chailājina-kuśhottaram
Anuṣṭubh(!!) irregular in source

Translation

Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣya

Having firmly established in a clean place his seat, neither too high nor too low, composed of cloth, skin, and kusa-grass placed successively one below the other;

हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda

शुद्ध (स्वच्छ) भूमि में कुश, मृगशाला और उस पर वस्त्र रखा हो ऐसे अपने आसन को न अति ऊँचा और न अति नीचा स्थिर स्थापित करके....৷৷.।।

Pronunciation — Vaamshii

from Vaamshii
शुचौ देशेप् रतिष् ठाप् य
स्थिर मा सन मात्मनः
नात् युच्छ् रितन् नाति नीचम्(!!)
चैला जिन कुशोत् तरम्
॥ ११ ॥
Read each split group as one breath-unit; hyphens join pādas kept whole for the meter or a compound word. Symbols: # upadhmānīya (visarga before p/ph), % jihvāmūlīya (visarga before k/kh), ऽ avagraha (an elided a). Full method →

Word by word

padārtha
śhuchauin a clean
deśheplace
pratiṣhṭhāpyahaving established
sthiramsteadfast
āsanamseat
ātmanaḥhis own
nanot
atitoo
uchchhritamhigh
nanot
atitoo
nīchamlow
chailacloth
ajinaa deerskin
kuśhakuśh grass
uttaramone over the other

Themes

from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad Gītā

Meaning — Questions & Solutions

from Q&A with KnA
6.11“Caila, ajina, kuśa — the layered seat.”

The instruction for the seat is concrete and ancient. On a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, one lays first kuśa grass, then a deer-skin (ajina) upon it, then a cloth (caila) on top. The three layers insulate the seated body — grass, hide, cloth — giving a firm, dry, steady base that neither chills nor tires the body over long sittings. The detail matters because the BG's meditation is embodied: comfort and stability of the seat are the ground on which stability of the mind is built.