Shloka 30

Devanagari script

आत्मनश्न समाधाने धारणां प्रति वा विभो । निदर्शनानि सूक्ष्माणि शूणु मे भरतर्षभ,प्रभो! भरतश्रेष्ठू आत्मसमाधिके लिये जो धारणा की जाती है, उसके विषयमें भी कुछ सूक्ष्म दृष्टान्त बतलाता हूँ, सुनो

Transliteration

ātmanaś ca samādhāne dhāraṇāṃ prati vā vibho | nidarśanāni sūkṣmāṇi śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O mighty one, O bull among the Bharatas, listen to me. With regard to gathering the self in samādhi—and also to the practice of dhāraṇā that leads toward it—I shall explain subtle illustrative examples, so that the mind may be steadied upon the inner Self.”

Word by Word

• {'ātman': 'the Self

• inner consciousness', 'samādhāna': 'settling/collecting (of the mind)

• also the state of samādhi in context', 'dhāraṇā': 'fixing/holding the mind on a chosen support

• a limb of yogic discipline', 'prati': 'with respect to

• concerning', 'vā': 'or

• also', 'vibho': 'O mighty one

• O powerful lord (vocative)', 'nidarśana': 'example

• analogy', 'sūkṣma': 'subtle

• inwardly discerned', 'śṛṇu': 'listen (imperative)', 'me': 'from me

• my', 'bharatarṣabha': 'O bull among the Bharatas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bharatarṣabha (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma introduces instruction on inner concentration: how the mind is gathered into steadiness (samādhāna/samādhi) and how dhāraṇā—deliberate holding of attention—serves as a practical method. He signals that subtle analogies will be used to make an inward discipline intelligible.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s teaching dialogue, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira after the war. Here he transitions into a more technical yogic explanation, asking the king to listen as he presents refined examples concerning meditation and mental fixation.