Shloka 11
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
लक्षण तु प्रसादस्य यथा स्वप्ने सुखं स्वपेत् । निवाते वा यथा दीपो दीप्यमानो न कम्पते
lakṣaṇaṁ tu prasādasya yathā svapne sukhaṁ svapet | nivāte vā yathā dīpo dīpyamāno na kampate ||
ব্যাস বললেন— প্রসাদের লক্ষণ এই: যেমন মানুষ নিদ্রায় সুখে শয়ন করে, আর যেমন বাতাসহীন স্থানে জ্বলন্ত প্রদীপ কাঁপে না—তেমনি শুদ্ধচিত্ত মনও টলে না; এটাই পরম অন্তঃশুদ্ধির চিহ্ন।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The core teaching is that true inner purity and serenity (prasāda) are recognized by steadiness: the mind remains unshaken and non-restless, like a lamp that does not flicker in a windless place, and like the ease experienced in deep, happy sleep.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is describing a practical criterion for spiritual and ethical maturity: not external display, but the inward sign of a mind that has become calm, stable, and free from agitation.