Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

नाभ्यां कण्ठे च शीर्ष च हृदि वक्षसि पार्श्चयो: । दर्शने श्रवणे चापि घ्राणे चामितविक्रम

Transliteration

nābhyāṁ kaṇṭhe ca śīrṣe ca hṛdi vakṣasi pārśvayoḥ | darśane śravaṇe cāpi ghrāṇe cāmitavikrama ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“大王，汝威德无量。彼修瑜伽者，于瑜伽大誓中令心一境；又以持念摄心之法，使微细之我与至上之我，于脐、喉、顶、心、胸、胁侧，以及见、闻、嗅诸根处，善加契合。若其愿之，便能迅速焚尽如山积聚之善业与恶业；依止最上瑜伽，而得解脱。”

Word by Word

• नाभ्याम्: by/at the two (places) of the navel
• नाभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाभि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Dual

• कण्ठे: in the throat
• कण्ठे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• शीर्षे: in the head
• शीर्षे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीर्षन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वक्षसि: in the chest
• वक्षसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्षस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पार्श्वयोः: in the two sides/flanks
• पार्श्वयोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्श्व
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Dual

• दर्शने: in seeing (the eye/vision)
• दर्शने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• श्रवणे: in hearing (the ear/audition)
• श्रवणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रवण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• घ्राणे: in smelling (the nose/olfaction)
• घ्राणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: घ्राण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अमितविक्रम: O one of immeasurable prowess
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमितविक्रम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• the king (addressed as amita-vikrama; i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
• yogī
• ātman
• paramātman

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Through disciplined one-pointed concentration (dhāraṇā) on key bodily and sensory loci, the yogin unites the subtle self with the Supreme Self; this realization and yogic absorption can rapidly destroy accumulated karma—both good and bad—and lead to liberation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhīṣma continues his discourse on yoga and liberation, describing a yogic method of concentration and its ethical-spiritual result: the eradication of karmic burdens and attainment of mokṣa.