Shloka 36
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
सारथिश्न यथा युकत्वा सदश्चान् सुसमाहितः । देशमिष्टं नयत्याशु धन्विनं पुरुषर्षभ
sārathiś ca yathā yuktvā sad-aśvān susamāhitaḥ | deśam iṣṭaṃ nayaty āśu dhanvinaṃ puruṣarṣabha ||
Bhishma bersabda: “Wahai insan terbaik! Seperti kusir yang sangat waspada, setelah memasang kuda-kuda pilihan dengan tepat dan tetap sepenuhnya terpusat, segera mengantar kesatria pemanah ke tempat yang diinginkan; demikian pula seorang yogin yang pikirannya terhimpun satu-titik dalam dhāraṇā cepat mencapai keadaan tertinggi—laksana anak panah yang dilepaskan menuju sasarannya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Focused inner discipline leads swiftly to the highest goal: as a skilled charioteer reaches a destination by properly harnessing and controlling good horses, a yogin reaches the supreme state by properly gathering and directing the mind through dhāraṇā (concentration).
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he uses a martial image familiar to kings and warriors—charioteer, horses, archer, and target—to explain how attentive control and correct preparation in yoga carry a practitioner quickly to the intended spiritual end.