Shloka 51
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
यथा कश्रिद् वन॑ घोरं बहुसर्पसरीसूपम् । श्वभ्रवत् तोयहीनं च दुर्गमें बहुकण्टकम्,जैसे कोई-कोई बिरला नवयुवक ही अनेकानेक सर्पों तथा विच्छू आदिसे भरे हुए गड़्ढ़ों और बहुत-से काँटोंवाले, जलशून्य, दुर्गम एवं घोर वनमें सकुशल यात्रा कर सकता है तथा जहाँ भोजन मिलना असम्भव है, जिसमें प्रायः जंगल-ही-जंगल पड़ता है, जहाँके वृक्ष दावानलसे जलकर भस्म हो गये हैं तथा जो चोर-डाकुओंसे भरा हुआ है, ऐसे मार्गको सकुशल तै कर सकता है; उसी प्रकार योगमार्गका आश्रय लेकर कोई बिरला ही द्विज उसपर कुशलपूर्वक चल पाता है, क्योंकि वह बहुत-से दोषों (कठिनाइयों)-से भरा हुआ बताया गया है
yathā kaścid vanaṁ ghoraṁ bahu-sarpa-sarīsṛpam | śvabhravat toyahīnaṁ ca durgamaṁ bahu-kaṇṭakam ||
Bhishma said: Just as only some rare person can safely pass through a terrifying forest—like a waterless ravine—infested with many snakes and creeping creatures, hard to traverse and full of thorns, where sustenance is scarcely found and danger abounds; so too, only a rare twice-born, taking refuge in the path of Yoga, is able to proceed on it successfully, for that path is said to be filled with many faults and hardships.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the yogic path is intrinsically difficult and perilous—like crossing a deadly, thorny, waterless forest—and therefore only a rare, well-prepared practitioner can proceed safely; it calls for vigilance, endurance, and freedom from common pitfalls.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on higher dharma and spiritual disciplines. Here he uses a vivid simile of a dangerous forest journey to explain why progress on the path of Yoga is uncommon and requires exceptional steadiness.