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.“
भीष्म उवाच
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.