Shloka 27
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
यद्यजस््रं समागच्छेद् यथा बाणो गुणच्युत:
yadyajasraṃ samāgacched yathā bāṇo guṇacyutaḥ
Vyāsa said: “Even if one were to come together again and again, it would be like an arrow that has slipped from the bowstring”—a simile suggesting that once the sustaining bond or discipline is lost, repeated effort lacks true control and cannot reliably reach its aim.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that without the sustaining ‘string’ of discipline, restraint, or proper connection, repeated attempts at reunion or action become ineffective—like an arrow no longer guided by the bowstring, unable to be directed toward its rightful goal.
Vyāsa uses a compact simile within the Śānti Parva’s ethical instruction: he compares a situation of repeated coming together (or repeated effort) to an arrow that has slipped from the bowstring, emphasizing loss of control and purposive direction.