Shloka 12
Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution
इषुकारो नर: कश्चिदिषावासक्तमानस: । समीपेनापि गच्छन्तं राजानं नावबुद्धवान्
iṣukāro naraḥ kaścid iṣāv āsaktamānasaḥ | samīpenāpi gacchantaṃ rājānaṃ nāvabuddhavān |
毗湿摩说：“从前有一位制箭之人，心神尽系于箭。即便国王从近旁经过，他也浑然不觉。”此事用以显明一境专注（ekāgratā）之力：当心完全收摄于所作之事，外境扰动便失其势——故此人以身示范，亦可为“导师”。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches ekāgratā—single-pointed concentration. A mind fully absorbed in a chosen duty or practice becomes steady and undistracted, which is presented as a practical model for self-mastery and ethical discipline.
Bhishma narrates an example: an arrow-maker is so intent on crafting arrows that he fails to notice the king passing close by. This striking inattentiveness to external spectacle is used to highlight the depth of his focus.