Shloka 45
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
पक्षान् मासानृतूंश्चैतान् संवत्सरानहस्तथा । अप: पीत्वा पयोमिश्रा योगी बलमवाप्नुयात्
pakṣān māsān ṛtūṁś caitān saṁvatsarān ahas tathā | apaḥ pītvā payomiśrā yogī balam avāpnuyāt ||
Bhīṣma dit : «En réglant son absorption par degrés—par quinzaines, par mois, par saisons, et même par années—et en buvant, aux intervalles prescrits, de l’eau mêlée de lait, le yogin acquiert peu à peu la force.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Progressive restraint in consumption—extending intervals from daily to fortnightly, monthly, seasonal, and yearly—cultivates tapas and steadiness; through such disciplined practice the yogin attains strength (bala) and yogic capacity.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and spiritual disciplines; here he describes an ascetic regimen involving drinking water mixed with milk at increasingly spaced intervals as an example of controlled austerity leading to inner power.