Shloka 9
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
आहत्य सर्वसंकल्पान् सत्त्वे चित्त निवेशयेत् सत्त्वे चित्तं समावेश्य तत: कालंजरो भवेत्
āhatya sarvasaṅkalpān sattve cittaṁ niveśayet | sattve cittaṁ samāveśya tataḥ kālaṁjaro bhavet, śabdaḥ śrotraṁ tathā khāni trayaṁ ākāśasambhavam | prāṇaśreṣṭhā tathā sparśa ete vāyuguṇās trayaḥ
Vyāsa said: Having struck down and subdued all intentions and mental constructions, one should place the mind in sattva (clarity and purity). When the mind is firmly absorbed in sattva, one becomes free from the wasting power of time and decay. Sound, the organ of hearing, and the bodily apertures—these three arise from ākāśa (space/ether). Vital breath, activity/impulse, and touch—these three are the qualities (effects) of vāyu (wind).
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Restrain and dissolve all saṅkalpas (mental intentions/constructs) and fix the mind in sattva; such absorption leads toward freedom from time’s corrosive power, while also understanding the elemental origins of sense-qualities (sound from ākāśa; touch and vital motion from vāyu).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vyāsa continues a doctrinal exposition: he links inner discipline (mind established in sattva) with Sāṅkhya-style cosmology describing how sensory functions and bodily features arise from the subtle elements.