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Yudhiṣṭhira said.
O best of the Kurus, you are omniscient; all is indeed known to you. O dear one, you are worthy to speak of the distinction between Sāṅkhya and Yoga to me.
Bhīṣma said.
Followers of Sāṅkhya praise Sāṅkhya, followers of Yoga praise Yoga; the twice-born declare the superiority (of their own doctrine) with reasons, indeed for the sake of promoting their own side.
O destroyer of enemies, the yogins who are truly wise declare, with reasons, that one who lacks mastery cannot be liberated; thus is superiority explained.
The Sāṅkhyas, the twice-born, properly speak of this cause; here, having known all the paths, he who is dispassionate towards objects.
The great wise ones say that Sāṅkhya is indeed the doctrine of liberation, for only thus, when one is clearly released upwards from the body, and not otherwise.
On one's own side, one should accept a reasoned, capable, and beneficial statement. But for people like you, only the opinion approved by the learned is to be accepted.
O Yudhiṣṭhira, both yoga and sāṅkhya, based on direct perception, reasoning, and scriptural conclusions, are, in my opinion, true in essence.
O king, both these views in knowledge, when approved by the wise and practiced according to the śāstra, may lead to the highest state.
O sinless one, both possess equal purity and compassion towards beings; the observance of vows is the same, but their perspectives are not identical.
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
O grandsire, if vow, purity, and compassion are equal here, why is the vision not equal? Please tell me that, O grandsire.
Bhīṣma said.
By yoga, having cut off attachment, delusion, affection, desire, and anger, therefore, one does not attain these five faults.
Just as large fish, after breaking through the net, return again to the water, so too do yogis, freed from sin, reach that supreme state.
In the same way, just as strong deer break free from a snare and reach a pure path, so too, those who are freed from all bonds attain the pure path.
O king, the pure yogins, having cut off the strong bonds born of greed, proceed on the supreme path to the auspicious state.
O king, weak creatures and deer, as well as others, perish in snares; there is no doubt about this, for it is due to the absence of the power of effort.
O son of Kunti, just as weak fishes caught in a net perish, O king, so too do very weak yogic practices come to an end.
Just as small birds, O subduer of enemies, upon reaching a net, there, those who are caught perish, and those endowed with strength are released.
O Parantapa, those bound by the bonds arising from actions and separated from that (liberation), the weak indeed perish, while those endowed with strength are released.
O king, just as a small and weak fire is extinguished when overwhelmed by large pieces of fuel, so too, O lord, weak effort is overpowered.
O king, when that fire, having regained its strength and joined with the wind, it could quickly burn even the entire earth.
In the same way, the yogi, endowed with newly arisen strength, blazing energy, and great might, could, like the sun at the end of time, dry up the entire world.
O king, just as a weak man is swept away by a current, so too is yoga, when lacking strength, helplessly swept away by sense-objects.
Just as an elephant blocks the current of water, so too, having gained the power of yoga, one restrains the many sense-objects.
O Pārtha, powerless beings endowed with yogic strength, as well as yogic powers, progenitors, sages, gods, great elements, and lords, all enter (here).
O king, neither Yama, nor the angry Antaka, nor Death of terrible prowess, rules over all those of Yoga of immeasurable brilliance.
O best of the Bharatas, having attained the strength of yoga with many thousands of selves, one should roam the earth with all of them.
One should attain the objects, and again practice intense austerity; and again, O Pārtha, one should contract (withdraw), just as the Sun contracts his qualities of splendor.
O king, for one who is firmly established in the strength of yoga and is the master of bondage, the state of being the cause of liberation is certainly attained, without any doubt.
O lord of men, I have declared these strengths in the context; for your understanding, I will again explain the subtle ones to you as illustration.
O best of the Bharatas, O mighty one, hear from me the subtle examples regarding the holding (of the mind) in concentration and of the self.
Just as a focused and careful archer hits the target, so too does a yogi who is properly engaged attain liberation without any doubt.
Just as one carefully places their mind steadily in a vessel full of affection, so too should a person, with focused mind, ascend the staircase attentively.
O king, when one unites the self in this way, yoga makes the self steady and pure, giving it a radiance like the sun.
O son of Kunti, just as a concentrated helmsman would quickly lead a boat that has entered the great ocean to the port, O king.
O king, in that manner, the knower of truth, having united self-concentration by yoga, attains the difficult-to-reach state after abandoning this body.
O best of men, just as a charioteer, after yoking fine horses and being attentive, swiftly takes the archer to the desired destination, so too...
In the same way, O king, the yogi who is absorbed in concentration quickly attains the supreme state, the ultimate goal, like a liberated soul, swiftly.
The yogin who, having established his self in the Self, remains steady, destroys sin as one would destroy fishes; he attains the undecaying, imperishable state.
O one of immeasurable prowess, (the vital airs are) in the navel, throat, head, heart, chest, sides, in seeing, touching, and also in smelling.
O lord of men, in these places, the yogi who is absorbed in great vows properly unites the subtle self by the self.
He who, with pure intellect, quickly burns up good and bad actions and resorts to the highest yoga, attains liberation as he desires.
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
O Bhārata, please tell me: by adopting what kinds of foods and conquering which things does the yogin attain strength?
Bhīṣma said.
A yogi who eats grains and oil-cake and avoids oils may gain strength.
O subduer of enemies, a yogi who is solitary and pure-minded, eating dry barley for a long time, may acquire strength.
By moving through fortnights, months, and various seasons, and also through caves, and by drinking water mixed with milk, the yogi may gain strength.
O lord of men, if a yogi with a pure mind fasts continuously for an entire month, he may gain strength.
Having conquered desire and anger, as well as cold, heat, and rain; and having overcome fear, sleep, breath, manliness, and sense-objects likewise.
O king, discontent, the terrible and unconquerable craving, all sense-contacts, and laziness—these, O best of kings, are difficult to conquer.
Great souls, free from passion and endowed with great wisdom, illuminate the subtle self by their own self, through the wealth of meditation and study.
O best of the Bharatas, this path is indeed considered difficult for Brāhmaṇas, for the wise; no one traverses it safely.
Just as someone might encounter a dreadful forest teeming with snakes and reptiles, full of chasms, devoid of water, hard to cross, and filled with many thorns.
A young man should proceed safely on a path that is like an uninhabited forest, with trees scorched by wildfire and infested with thieves.
Whoever among the twice-born attains the path of yoga and practices it, should safely desist from the path that is full of many faults; such a person is indeed considered wise.
O king, it is easy to stand even on sharp razor-edges; but for those whose self is undisciplined, it is difficult to remain steady in the concentrations of yoga.
O dear, when the sustaining principles are destroyed, they do not lead to a good path; just as a boat without a leader cannot carry men across the ocean, O king.
O son of Kunti, whoever abides in the practices of concentration as prescribed, he is freed from death, birth, suffering, and happiness.
This teaching, ascertained in various treatises, is stated in the yogas; but that supreme yoga which is complete and determined is (found) among the twice-born.
Indeed, that is the supreme Brahman, the great and great-souled ones: Brahmā, the lord, the bestower of boons, Viṣṇu, Bhava (Śiva), Dharma, the six-faced one (Kārttikeya), and the six great sons of Brahmā.
Darkness, pain, immense impurity, purity, supreme nature, perfection, the goddess, wife of Varuṇa, splendor, entirety, immense fortitude.
Indeed, the pure lord of the stars, along with the stars; all the gods, serpents, and ancestors; the mountains, all the oceans, the terrible ones; and all the rivers, those possessing soma, and the clouds.
The great yogi, having encountered serpents, mountains, yakṣas, directions, gandharvas, men, and women, should enter among them; soon, being liberated, he is not delayed.
O king, this story, which is auspicious and concerns the god of great heroic resolve, is told. The great soul, having the self of Nārāyaṇa, overcomes all yogas and mortals.
