Shloka 9
अध्याय ३२३ — श्वेतद्वीपगमनम्, यज्ञभाग-विवादः, एकान्तिभक्त्या नारायणदर्शन-नियमः (Śvetadvīpa Journey; Dispute over Sacrificial Share; Rule of Nārāyaṇa-vision through Single-minded Devotion)
अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य वाजपेयशतस्य च । योगस्य कलया तात न तुल्य॑ विद्यते फलम्,तात! सहस्रों अश्वमेध और सैकड़ों वाजपेय यज्ञोंका जो फल है, वह योगकी सोलहवीं कलाके फलकी भी समानता नहीं कर सकता
aśvamedha-sahasrasya vājapeya-śatasya ca | yogasya kalayā tāta na tulyā vidyate phalam ||
Bhishma said: “Dear child, the merit gained from a thousand Aśvamedha sacrifices and a hundred Vājapeya rites is not equal even to a sixteenth part of the fruit of Yoga. Such is the surpassing power of inner discipline over mere ritual achievement.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Inner discipline (yoga)—self-control, concentration, and spiritual insight—yields a higher and more enduring fruit than even the greatest accumulations of ritual merit. The verse elevates ethical-spiritual transformation over external religious performance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes that the spiritual fruit of yoga surpasses the merit of grand royal sacrifices like the Aśvamedha and Vājapeya, guiding the king toward inner governance and restraint.