Shloka 2
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
व्यासजी कहते हैं--बेटा! देह, इन्द्रिय और मन आदि जो प्रकृतिके विकार हैं, वे क्षेत्रज् (आत्मा) के ही आधारपर स्थित रहते हैं। वे जड होनेके कारण क्षेत्रज्ञको नहीं जानते; परंतु क्षेत्रज्ष गन सबको जानता है ।।
vyāsa uvāca | adhyātmaṃ yad idaṃ tāta puruṣasyeha paṭhyate | tat te 'haṃ vartayiṣyāmi tasya vyākhyām imāṃ śṛṇu || kṣetra-jñaḥ kṣetra-bhūtānāṃ dehendriya-mano-ādīnām āśrayaḥ | te jaḍāḥ kṣetra-jñaṃ na jānanti kṣetra-jñas tu sarvān jānāti || taiś caivaṃ kurute kāryaṃ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhair ihendriyaiḥ | sudāntair iva saṃyantā dṛḍhaḥ paramavājibhiḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Dear child, what is taught here as ‘adhyātma’—the inner doctrine concerning the human being—I shall now explain to you. Listen to this exposition. The body, the senses, and the mind—being modifications of Prakṛti—stand supported upon the Knower of the Field (the Self). Because they are insentient, they do not know the Knower; but the Knower knows them all. Thus, with the senses (together with the mind as the sixth), the Knower accomplishes all action here—just as a firm charioteer, having well-trained powerful horses under control, makes them perform their work effectively.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage distinguishes the conscious Self (kṣetrajña) from the insentient body–mind apparatus (kṣetra). Body, senses, and mind are Prakṛti’s modifications and cannot ‘know’ the Self; rather, the Self illumines and knows them. Ethical mastery arises when the Self, like a skilled charioteer, keeps the mind and senses disciplined and uses them rightly for action.
Vyāsa begins an instructional discourse on adhyātma addressed to a ‘dear child’ (tāta). He introduces a philosophical framework—Self versus body-mind—and illustrates it with the charioteer-and-horses analogy to explain how disciplined senses and mind enable effective, righteous action.