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Shloka 15

Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse

अबलाश्च मृगा राजन्‌ वागुरासु तथा परे | विनश्यन्ति न संदेहस्तद्वद्‌ योगबलादृते,नरेश्वर! जैसे निर्बल मृग तथा दूसरे पशु जालमें पड़कर निस्सन्देह नष्ट हो जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार योगबलसे रहित मनुष्यकी भी दशा होती है

abalāś ca mṛgā rājan vāgurāsu tathā pare | vinaśyanti na saṃdehas tadvad yogabalād ṛte nara-īśvara ||

Bhishma sprach: „O König, wie schwache Hirsche und andere Tiere, sobald sie in Netze geraten, ohne Zweifel zugrunde gehen, so ergeht es auch dem Menschen, dem die aus Yoga geborene Kraft fehlt.“

अबलाःweak (ones)
अबलाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootअबल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
मृगाःdeer
मृगाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमृग
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
राजन्O king
राजन्:
TypeNoun
Rootराजन्
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
वागुरासुin nets/snares
वागुरासु:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootवागुरा
FormFeminine, Locative, Plural
तथाlikewise
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
परेother (animals)
परे:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootपर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
विनश्यन्तिperish
विनश्यन्ति:
TypeVerb
Rootनश्
FormPresent, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada
not
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
संदेहःdoubt
संदेहः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootसंदेह
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
तद्वत्in the same way
तद्वत्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतद्वत्
योगबलात्from/without the power of yoga
योगबलात्:
Apadana
TypeNoun
Rootयोगबल
FormNeuter, Ablative, Singular
ऋतेwithout (excepting)
ऋते:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootऋते
नर-ईश्वरO lord of men
नर-ईश्वर:
TypeNoun
Rootनरेश्वर
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhishma
K
King (Yudhishthira implied by context)
D
deer (mṛga)
N
nets/snares (vāgurā)

Educational Q&A

Without yogabala—inner discipline, steadiness of mind, and self-mastery—a person becomes helpless against binding forces (desire, fear, temptation, external pressures) and is easily ruined, like weak animals trapped in nets.

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the king on dharma and the means of inner stability. Here he uses a vivid hunting image—animals caught in snares—to warn that a ruler (and any person) must cultivate yogic strength to avoid inevitable downfall.