Shloka 55
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
विपन्ना धारणास्तात नयन्ति न शुभां गतिम् । नेतृहीना यथा नाव: पुरुषानर्णवे नूप
vipannā dhāraṇās tāta nayanti na śubhāṃ gatim | netṛhīnā yathā nāvaḥ puruṣān arṇave nṛpa ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai anakku, wahai raja! Dhāraṇā yang gagal atau tidak sempurna tidak mengantar pada tujuan yang baik. Seperti perahu tanpa juru mudi tak mampu menyeberangkan orang di lautan, demikian pula dhāraṇā yang belum tegak tidak dapat membawa seseorang ke jalan kebajikan dan pencapaian luhur.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual techniques (dhāraṇā and related yogic disciplines) must be properly established and guided; if they are defective or incomplete, they cannot lead to auspicious spiritual progress—just as a boat needs a helmsman to cross the ocean.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma and inner discipline. Here he uses a practical metaphor—an unguided boat at sea—to warn that unguided or failed yogic concentration practices do not yield the promised higher good.