Shloka 16
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
बलहीनाश्न कौन्तेय यथा जाल॑ गता झषा: । वधं गच्छन्ति राजेन्द्र योगास्तद्वत् सुदुर्बला:
balahīnāśnau kaunteya yathā jāla-gatā jhaṣāḥ | vadhaṁ gacchanti rājendra yogās tadvat sudurbalāḥ ||
Bhishma disse: “Ó filho de Kunti, ó senhor dos reis, como os peixes fracos, uma vez presos na rede, vão ao abate, assim também acontece aos que estão totalmente desprovidos da força do yoga.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual practice must be supported by real inner strength—steadiness, self-control, and resolve. If one’s ‘yoga’ is weak (lacking discipline and power), it cannot protect the practitioner; instead, one becomes vulnerable to downfall, like fish trapped in a net.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he uses a vivid analogy—weak fish caught in a net—to warn that practices or vows undertaken without sufficient inner power and firmness lead to harm rather than liberation.