Shloka 13

Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse

Devanagari script

तथैव वागुरां छिक्त्वा बलवन्तो यथा मृगा: । प्राप्तुयुर्विमलं मार्ग विमुक्ता: सर्वबन्धनै:

Transliteration

tathaiva vāgurāṁ chittvā balavanto yathā mṛgāḥ | prāptuyur vimalaṁ mārgaṁ vimuktāḥ sarvabandhanaiḥ ||

Translation

அரசே! வலிமைமிக்க மான்கள் வேட்டைக்காரனின் வலையை கிழித்து எல்லா கட்டுகளிலிருந்தும் விடுபட்டு தடையற்ற பாதையில் செல்லும் போல, யோக வலிமை பெற்ற யோகிகள் பேராசையால் உண்டான பந்தங்களை உடைத்து, மிகத் தூயதும் மங்களகரமுமான பாதையை அடைகிறார்கள்.

Word by Word

• {'tathā eva': 'just so

• in the same way', 'vāgurām': 'a net/snare (used for catching animals)', 'chittvā': 'having cut/torn apart (absolutive of √chid)', 'balavantaḥ': 'strong, powerful (plural)', 'yathā': 'as, just like', 'mṛgāḥ': 'deer

• wild animals (here, deer)', 'prāptuyuḥ': 'they would attain/reach (optative/benedictive sense)', 'vimalaṁ': 'stainless, pure, untainted', 'mārgaṁ': 'path

• way (also: spiritual path)', 'vimuktāḥ': 'released, liberated, freed', 'sarva-bandhanaiḥ': 'from all bonds/fetters (instrumental plural)', 'lobha-janita': 'born of greed (sense supplied by the prose gloss)', 'yoga-bala': 'the strength/power arising from yoga (sense supplied by the prose gloss)', 'kalyāṇa-maya': 'consisting of welfare/auspiciousness (sense supplied by the prose gloss)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• deer (mṛga)
• net/snare (vāgurā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Greed creates binding fetters; through yogic discipline and inner strength, one can cut these bonds and move toward a pure, auspicious path leading to spiritual freedom.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction to the king (Yudhishthira), he uses a vivid simile: strong deer tear a net and walk freely; likewise, a yogin breaks greed-born attachments and proceeds unobstructed on the path of purification and liberation.