Shloka 9
अध्याय ३२३ — श्वेतद्वीपगमनम्, यज्ञभाग-विवादः, एकान्तिभक्त्या नारायणदर्शन-नियमः (Śvetadvīpa Journey; Dispute over Sacrificial Share; Rule of Nārāyaṇa-vision through Single-minded Devotion)
अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य वाजपेयशतस्य च । योगस्य कलया तात न तुल्य॑ विद्यते फलम्,तात! सहस्रों अश्वमेध और सैकड़ों वाजपेय यज्ञोंका जो फल है, वह योगकी सोलहवीं कलाके फलकी भी समानता नहीं कर सकता
aśvamedha-sahasrasya vājapeya-śatasya ca | yogasya kalayā tāta na tulyā vidyate phalam ||
Bhishma sprach: „Mein Kind, das Verdienst aus tausend Aśvamedha-Opfern und hundert Vājapeya-Riten ist nicht einmal einem Sechzehntel der Frucht des Yoga gleich. So überragt die innere Disziplin den bloßen rituellen Erfolg.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Inner discipline (yoga)—self-control, concentration, and spiritual insight—yields a higher and more enduring fruit than even the greatest accumulations of ritual merit. The verse elevates ethical-spiritual transformation over external religious performance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes that the spiritual fruit of yoga surpasses the merit of grand royal sacrifices like the Aśvamedha and Vājapeya, guiding the king toward inner governance and restraint.