Shloka 28
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
बलस्थस्य हि योगस्य बन्धनेशस्य पार्थिव । विमोक्षप्रभविष्णुत्वमुपपन्नमसंशयम्
balasthasya hi yogasya bandhaneśasya pārthiva | vimokṣa-prabhaviṣṇutvam upapannam asaṁśayam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, lorsque le Yoga est solidement établi dans la force et la stabilité, il devient le maître de l’attache; et, sans aucun doute, il est aussi pleinement capable d’engendrer la libération. Autrement dit, la même puissance de discipline qui peut lier l’esprit aux enchevêtrements du monde, lorsqu’elle est orientée comme il faut, devient le moyen sûr du délivrement.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yoga, when made steady and powerful through disciplined practice, has a double capacity: it can bind (by fastening the mind to objects, powers, or ego) and it can liberate (by turning the same disciplined focus toward detachment, insight, and the highest good). The verse stresses that liberation is not accidental but a well-founded result of rightly directed yogic strength.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the paths of inner peace. Here he explains a principle about yoga’s potency: the force of concentrated practice can either deepen worldly bondage or become the assured means of mokṣa, depending on its orientation and use.