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Shloka · Bhagavad Gita 6.5

Bhagavad Gita 6.5 “Uddhared atmanatmanam”: be your own friend

Lift yourself by yourself. One verse that turns self-help into self-friendship.

Verses checked against the source texts · Drafted with AI help and reviewed before publishing · Last reviewed 2026-11-12 · How we write

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

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Bhagavad Gita 6.5

Meaning

Raise yourself through your own effort; never put yourself down. You are your own friend — and you can also be your own enemy.

हिंदी में अर्थ

मनुष्य स्वयं अपना उद्धार करे, स्वयं को नीचे न गिराए। क्योंकि मनुष्य स्वयं ही अपना मित्र है और स्वयं ही अपना शत्रु।

Word by word

उद्धरेत् · uddharetone should lift up
आत्मना · ātmanāby the self, by your own effort
आत्मानम् · ātmānamthe self, yourself
न अवसादयेत् · na avasādayetshould not let sink or degrade
आत्मा एव · ātmā evathe self alone
हि · hiindeed
बन्धुः · bandhuḥfriend, relative
रिपुः · ripuḥenemy

The next verse completes it

बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः ।
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ॥

For one who has mastered the self, the self is a friend. For one who has not, the self behaves like an enemy.

Bhagavad Gita 6.6

These verses open Krishna’s teaching on meditation in chapter 6. Before any technique, he names the relationship that decides everything: the one you have with yourself.

In your life

The inner criticWhen the voice in your head says “you always fail”, ask: would I speak to a friend like this? Then answer as that friend would.
HabitsEvery small promise kept to yourself — sleeping on time, one page a day — is the self becoming its own friend.
After a setbackDon’t sink yourself further (nātmānam avasādayet). Rest, then take one step up.
Feeling aloneBefore anyone else arrives, you can be on your own side.

Practise it

  1. Catch one harsh thought a day.Write it down, then rewrite it as a friend would say it.
  2. Keep one small promise.Choose something tiny and do it every day for a week. Trust is built in small repetitions — with yourself too.
  3. Repeat the line.When you feel yourself sinking, say ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhuḥ — I am my own friend.

Questions people ask

What is the meaning of “uddhared atmanatmanam”?

“One should lift oneself by oneself” — Gita 6.5, which continues: do not degrade yourself, for you are your own friend and your own enemy.

Which Gita verse says you are your own friend and enemy?

Bhagavad Gita 6.5, explained further in 6.6.