Shloka 12
Śarīrin, Buddhi, and the Limits of Sense-Perception (इन्द्रियबुद्धिशरीरिविचारः)
जलबिन्दुर्यथा लोल: पर्णस्थ: सर्वतश्नलः । एवमेवास्य चित्तं च भवति ध्यानवर्त्मनि,जैसे पत्तेपर पड़ी हुई पानीकी बूँद सब ओरसे हिलती रहती है, उसी प्रकार ध्यानमार्ममें स्थित साधकका मन भी प्रारम्भमें चंचल होता रहता है
jalabindur yathā lolaḥ parṇasthaḥ sarvataś calaḥ | evam evāsya cittaṃ ca bhavati dhyāna-vartmani ||
Bhīṣma said: “Just as a drop of water resting on a leaf quivers and shifts in every direction, so too the practitioner’s mind, when set upon the path of meditation, is at first unsteady and restless.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Early restlessness of the mind is natural on the meditative path; like a water-drop on a leaf, it easily wavers, implying the need for patience, steady practice, and gradual stabilization.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhīṣma teaches by analogy, describing the beginner’s mind in meditation as inherently unstable at first, setting expectations for the seeker’s training.