Shloka 28
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
Devanagari script
स एकाग्रं मन: कृत्वा निश्चलो योगमास्थित:
Transliteration
sa ekāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā niścalo yogam āsthitaḥ | ekabāṇena yogena balavān sa narādhipaḥ || indriyāṇi samastāni sahasā paryajayad balī | dhyānayogena cātmānaṃ praviśya paramāṃ siddhiṃ mokṣaṃ prāpa ||
Translation
婆罗门说道：他摄心归一，端坐不动，安住于瑜伽。以这“唯一之箭”——禅定修持之法——那位强大的国王迅速降伏诸根。由禅那瑜伽而入于真我，遂得至上成就——解脱（mokṣa）。
Word by Word
{'ekāgram''one-pointed, concentrated (of the mind)', 'manaḥ kṛtvā': 'having made the mind (so), having composed the mind', 'niścalaḥ': 'motionless, steady', 'yogam āsthitaḥ': 'having taken refuge in yoga
{'ekāgram':
established in yogic practice', 'eka-bāṇa''a single arrow (metaphor for a single decisive means)', 'dhyāna-yoga': 'yoga of meditation
established in yogic practice', 'eka-bāṇa':
contemplative discipline', 'indriyāṇi''the senses', 'samastāni': 'all, entire', 'sahasā': 'suddenly, swiftly', 'parājayad': 'he conquered, overcame', 'narādhipaḥ': 'king, lord of men', 'ātmānam praviśya': 'having entered into the Self
contemplative discipline', 'indriyāṇi':
turning inward to the ātman', 'paramā siddhiḥ''the supreme attainment/perfection', 'mokṣaḥ': 'liberation, release from saṃsāra'}
turning inward to the ātman', 'paramā siddhiḥ':
Speaker
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Characters & Entities
ब
ब्राह्मण (speaker)न
नराधिप (a king, unnamed here)इ
इन्द्रियाणि (the senses)आ
आत्मा/आत्मन् (the Self)म
मोक्ष (liberation)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Educational Q&A
True victory is inner: by one-pointed meditation and steadiness, one conquers the senses and realizes the Self, culminating in the highest goal—mokṣa.
A Brahmin describes a powerful king who sits motionless in concentrated meditation, overcomes the pull of the senses through dhyāna-yoga, and attains final liberation.