Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
विशन्ति चावशा: पार्थ योगाद् योगबलान्विता: । प्रजापतीनृषीन् देवान् महाभूतानि चेश्वरा:
viśanti cāvaśāḥ pārtha yogād yogabalānvitāḥ | prajāpati-nṛṣīn devān mahābhūtāni ceśvarāḥ, kuntīnandana |
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó Pārtha, dotados do poder nascido do Yoga, tais mestres—agindo segundo a própria vontade—podem, por meio do Yoga, penetrar nos Prajāpatis, nos videntes (ṛṣi), nos deuses e até nos grandes elementos. Ó filho de Kuntī, o Yoga lhes concede a capacidade de pervadir e assumir esses modos mais elevados de ser.”
भीष्म उवाच
Bhīṣma highlights the extraordinary reach of yogic mastery: through disciplined Yoga, a perfected person gains yogabala (spiritual power) enabling voluntary ‘entry’ or pervasion of higher beings and even the fundamental elements—signifying profound control over consciousness and embodiment.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira’s side (with Arjuna addressed here), Bhīṣma is describing the capacities of accomplished yogins. He states that such masters, by yogic power, can penetrate or assume the states associated with Prajāpatis, sages, gods, and the five great elements.