Shloka 24
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
विशन्ति चावशा: पार्थ योगाद् योगबलान्विता: । प्रजापतीनृषीन् देवान् महाभूतानि चेश्वरा:,कुन्तीनन्दन! योगशक्तिसम्पन्न पुरुष स्वतन्त्रता-पूर्वक प्रजापति, ऋषि, देवता और पञ्चमहाभूतोंमें प्रवेश कर जाते हैं। उनमें ऐसा करनेकी सामर्थ्य आ जाती है
viśanti cāvaśāḥ pārtha yogād yogabalānvitāḥ | prajāpati-nṛṣīn devān mahābhūtāni ceśvarāḥ, kuntīnandana |
Bhīṣma said: “O Pārtha, endowed with the power born of Yoga, such masters—acting at will—can, through Yoga, enter into Prajāpatis, seers, gods, and even the great elements. O son of Kuntī, Yoga grants them the capacity to pervade and assume these higher modes of being.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights the extraordinary reach of yogic mastery: through disciplined Yoga, a perfected person gains yogabala (spiritual power) enabling voluntary ‘entry’ or pervasion of higher beings and even the fundamental elements—signifying profound control over consciousness and embodiment.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira’s side (with Arjuna addressed here), Bhīṣma is describing the capacities of accomplished yogins. He states that such masters, by yogic power, can penetrate or assume the states associated with Prajāpatis, sages, gods, and the five great elements.