O venerable one, even some beings of elevated wisdom, shattered by the impact of difficulties, lie confused believing that they know the Self.

The text opens with an uncomfortable truth: intelligence affords no immunity against suffering. Accumulated wisdom can evaporate when the weight of existence becomes unbearable. Rāma, still a prince, articulates what Patañjali would later categorize as the nine obstacles (vighna): illness, sluggishness, doubt, carelessness,