Shloka 34
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
यथा च नावं कौन्तेय कर्णधार: समाहित: । महार्णवगतां शीघ्र॑ नयेत् पार्थिवसत्तम
yathā ca nāvaṁ kaunteya karṇadhāraḥ samāhitaḥ | mahārṇavagatāṁ śīghraṁ nayet pārthivasattama ||
Bhishma bersabda: “Wahai putra Kunti, yang terbaik di antara para raja! Sebagaimana juru mudi yang teguh dan waspada dengan cepat membawa perahu yang telah memasuki samudra raya menuju tujuannya, demikian pula seorang yang mengetahui hakikat menurut Yoga—dengan samādhi meneguhkan batinnya pada Diri Tertinggi—setelah melepaskan tubuh ini, mencapai keadaan tertinggi yang sukar dicapai.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steady inner discipline is like skilled navigation: one who is composed and knows reality through yoga can fix the mind in the Supreme via samādhi and thereby reach the highest goal after leaving the body.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on higher dharma and spiritual means; here he uses the image of a helmsman guiding a boat across the ocean to illustrate how concentrated yogic knowledge guides the soul toward the supreme state.