Shloka 28

अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory

Mahābhārata 14.30

Devanagari script

स एकाग्रं मन: कृत्वा निश्चलो योगमास्थित:

Transliteration

sa ekāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā niścalo yogam āsthitaḥ | ekabāṇena yogena balavān sa narādhipaḥ || indriyāṇi samastāni sahasā paryajayad balī | dhyānayogena cātmānaṃ praviśya paramāṃ siddhiṃ mokṣaṃ prāpa ||

Translation

ব্রাহ্মণ বললেন—তিনি মনকে একাগ্র করে, অচল হয়ে যোগে প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়ে ধ্যানের সাধনা করলেন। ধ্যান-যোগরূপ একটিমাত্র বাণে সেই পরাক্রান্ত রাজা মুহূর্তে সকল ইন্দ্রিয়কে জয় করলেন। যোগের দ্বারা আত্মায় প্রবেশ করে তিনি পরম সিদ্ধি—মোক্ষ—লাভ করলেন।

Word by Word

• {'ekāgram': 'one-pointed, concentrated (of the mind)', 'manaḥ kṛtvā': 'having made the mind (so), having composed the mind', 'niścalaḥ': 'motionless, steady', 'yogam āsthitaḥ': 'having taken refuge in yoga

• established in yogic practice', 'eka-bāṇa': 'a single arrow (metaphor for a single decisive means)', 'dhyāna-yoga': 'yoga of meditation

• contemplative discipline', 'indriyāṇi': 'the senses', 'samastāni': 'all, entire', 'sahasā': 'suddenly, swiftly', 'parājayad': 'he conquered, overcame', 'narādhipaḥ': 'king, lord of men', 'ātmānam praviśya': 'having entered into the Self

• turning inward to the ātman', 'paramā siddhiḥ': 'the supreme attainment/perfection', 'mokṣaḥ': 'liberation, release from saṃsāra'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (speaker)
• नराधिप (a king, unnamed here)
• इन्द्रियाणि (the senses)
• आत्मा/आत्मन् (the Self)
• मोक्ष (liberation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True victory is inner: by one-pointed meditation and steadiness, one conquers the senses and realizes the Self, culminating in the highest goal—mokṣa.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin describes a powerful king who sits motionless in concentrated meditation, overcomes the pull of the senses through dhyāna-yoga, and attains final liberation.