Shloka 37
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
तथैव नृपते योगी धारणासु समाहित: । प्राप्नोत्याशु परं स्थान लक्ष॑ मुक्त इवाशुग:
tathaiva nṛpate yogī dhāraṇāsu samāhitaḥ | prāpnoty āśu paraṃ sthānaṃ lakṣyaṃ mukta ivāśugaḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Assim também, ó rei: o iogue cuja mente está firmemente recolhida nas práticas de dhāraṇā alcança depressa o estado supremo—como uma flecha veloz que, uma vez solta, voa reta ao alvo.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steady dhāraṇā (focused concentration) makes progress toward the highest goal swift and direct; when the mind is firmly held to its aim, attainment follows with the inevitability of an arrow reaching its target.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on spiritual discipline. Here he uses a vivid martial image—an arrow released toward a target—to explain how a concentrated yogin quickly reaches the supreme state.