Shloka 41
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
स शीघ्रमचलप्रख्यं कर्म दग्ध्वा शुभाशुभम् । उत्तमं योगमास्थाय यदीच्छति विमुच्यते
sa śīghram acalaprakhyaṃ karma dagdhvā śubhāśubham | uttamaṃ yogam āsthāya yadīcchati vimucyate, amita-parākramī nareśa |
तो पर्वतासारखी अचल शुभ-अशुभ कर्मे शीघ्र दग्ध करतो; आणि उत्तम योगाचा आश्रय घेऊन, इच्छिल्यास, मुक्त होतो।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest yoga—marked by one-pointed dhāraṇā and inner union of the subtle self with the Supreme Self—can rapidly consume accumulated karma, both good and bad, culminating in liberation (mokṣa).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma addresses the king and explains a yogic path: through concentrated inner practice at various bodily loci and realization of union with Paramātman, a yogin can burn karmic residues and attain release.