Shloka 37
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
तथैव नृपते योगी धारणासु समाहित: । प्राप्नोत्याशु परं स्थान लक्ष॑ मुक्त इवाशुग:,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
tathaiva nṛpate yogī dhāraṇāsu samāhitaḥ | prāpnoty āśu paraṃ sthānaṃ lakṣyaṃ mukta ivāśugaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “So too, O king: a yogin whose mind is steadily collected in the practices of dhāraṇā attains swiftly the supreme state—like a fast arrow, once released, that flies straight to its mark. The teaching is that disciplined concentration makes the highest goal reachable with the same inevitability and speed as a well-aimed shot.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steady dhāraṇā (focused concentration) makes progress toward the highest goal swift and direct; when the mind is firmly held to its aim, attainment follows with the inevitability of an arrow reaching its target.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on spiritual discipline. Here he uses a vivid martial image—an arrow released toward a target—to explain how a concentrated yogin quickly reaches the supreme state.