Kṛṣṇa describes the soul as the sovereign resident of the body. He calls the body a ‘nava-dvāre pure’, a city with nine gates (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, anus, and genital). When the embodied living being mentally renounces all actions and controls their nature, they live happily within this city. They realize they are the inhabitant, not the house. They neither perform the material work themselves nor do they cause it to be done; they allow nature to run its course while they remain in a state of inner sovereignty. They are the ‘Vaśī’, the master of their own internal environment. Arjuna is overwhelmed by the ‘mess’ of the war. Kṛṣṇa is telling him to retreat into this inner city. He can perform his physical role at the gates of the city, but internally, his soul can sit on the throne of peace, watching the play of nature without being disturbed. This is the ultimate form of self-possession.