Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 28
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
तीर्णो गच्छेत् परं पारं नावमुत्सृज्य निर्मम: । व्याख्यातं पूर्वकल्पेन यथा रथपदातिनो:
tīrṇo gacchet paraṃ pāraṃ nāvam utsṛjya nirmamaḥ | vyākhyātaṃ pūrvakalpena yathā rathapadātinoḥ ||
风神伐由说道：“既已渡过，当趋向更远的彼岸，弃舟而行，心无占有之念。此义先前已以旧喻说明——如乘车者与徒步者之别。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Use supports (disciplines, methods, aids) to cross the ‘ocean’ of worldly bondage, but do not cling to them as possessions; once the goal is reached, the wise abandon attachment even to the means, becoming nirmama (free of ‘mine-ness’).
Vāyudeva delivers a concise instruction through a familiar simile: just as a traveler leaves the boat behind after reaching the far bank, so too should one relinquish possessiveness toward prior instruments of progress; he notes that this point was already taught earlier via the chariot-versus-foot-traveler illustration.