Shloka 36
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
सारथिश्न यथा युकत्वा सदश्चान् सुसमाहितः । देशमिष्टं नयत्याशु धन्विनं पुरुषर्षभ,पुरुषप्रवर! राजन! जिस तरह अत्यन्त सावधान रहनेवाला सारथि अच्छे घोड़ोंको रथमें जोतकर धनुर्धर योद्धाको तुरंत ही अभीष्ट स्थानपर पहुँचा देता है, वैसे ही धारणाओंमें एकाग्रचित हुआ योगी लक्ष्यकी ओर छोड़े हुए बाणकी भाँति शीघ्र परम पदको प्राप्त हो जाता है
sārathiś ca yathā yuktvā sad-aśvān susamāhitaḥ | deśam iṣṭaṃ nayaty āśu dhanvinaṃ puruṣarṣabha ||
Bhishma said: “O best of men! Just as a vigilant charioteer, having properly yoked fine horses and remaining fully attentive, swiftly brings a bow-bearing warrior to the desired destination, so too a yogin whose mind is gathered into one-pointed concentration upon his inner supports (dhāraṇās) quickly attains the supreme state—like an arrow released toward its mark.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Focused inner discipline leads swiftly to the highest goal: as a skilled charioteer reaches a destination by properly harnessing and controlling good horses, a yogin reaches the supreme state by properly gathering and directing the mind through dhāraṇā (concentration).
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he uses a martial image familiar to kings and warriors—charioteer, horses, archer, and target—to explain how attentive control and correct preparation in yoga carry a practitioner quickly to the intended spiritual end.