Shloka 13
Śarīrin, Buddhi, and the Limits of Sense-Perception (इन्द्रियबुद्धिशरीरिविचारः)
समादितं क्षणं किज्चिद् ध्यानवर्त्मनि तिष्ठति । पुनर्वायुपथं भ्रान्तं मनो भवति वायुवत्
samāditaṁ kṣaṇaṁ kiñcid dhyānavartmani tiṣṭhati | punar vāyupathaṁ bhrāntaṁ mano bhavati vāyuvat ||
एकाग्र केल्यावर मन काही क्षण ध्यानमार्गावर टिकते; पण नंतर प्राणवायूच्या पथात भटकून भ्रमित होते आणि वाऱ्यासारखे चंचल बनते.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after initial concentration, the mind tends to slip back into habitual restlessness; therefore sustained practice and disciplined regulation of the inner energies (prāṇa/vāyu) are needed for stable meditation.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he describes a meditator’s common experience: the mind briefly becomes one-pointed, then wanders again, becoming fickle like the wind.