Shloka 24
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
विशन्ति चावशा: पार्थ योगाद् योगबलान्विता: । प्रजापतीनृषीन् देवान् महाभूतानि चेश्वरा:
viśanti cāvaśāḥ pārtha yogād yogabalānvitāḥ | prajāpati-nṛṣīn devān mahābhūtāni ceśvarāḥ, kuntīnandana |
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Pārtha, pourvus de la puissance née du Yoga, de tels maîtres—agissant à leur gré—peuvent, par le Yoga, pénétrer les Prajāpati, les sages voyants (ṛṣi), les dieux, et même les grands éléments. Ô fils de Kuntī, le Yoga leur confère la faculté de tout imprégner et d’assumer ces modes d’être plus élevés.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights the extraordinary reach of yogic mastery: through disciplined Yoga, a perfected person gains yogabala (spiritual power) enabling voluntary ‘entry’ or pervasion of higher beings and even the fundamental elements—signifying profound control over consciousness and embodiment.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira’s side (with Arjuna addressed here), Bhīṣma is describing the capacities of accomplished yogins. He states that such masters, by yogic power, can penetrate or assume the states associated with Prajāpatis, sages, gods, and the five great elements.