Shloka 4
उपासते महावृक्ष॑ सुलुब्धास्तत्फलेप्सव: । आयसै: संयुता: पाशै: फलदं परिवेष्ट्य तम्,लोभी मनुष्य लोहेकी जंजीरोंके समान वासनाके बन्धनोंमें बँधकर उस फलदायक महान् वृक्षको चारों ओरसे घेरकर आस-पास बैठे हैं और उसके फलको प्राप्त करना चाहते हैं
upāsate mahāvṛkṣaṃ sulubdhās tat-phalepṣavaḥ | āyasaiḥ saṃyutāḥ pāśaiḥ phaladaṃ pariveṣṭya tam ||
Vyāsa said: Greedy men, longing for its fruit, sit around and worship a great fruit-bearing tree; bound by iron-like nooses, they encircle that giver of fruits, driven by craving and the hope of gain. The image exposes how desire turns reverence into possession and bondage, and how attachment to results traps the seeker in self-made restraints.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Craving for results (phala) turns the mind into a captive: people ‘worship’ what they want to exploit, yet their very desire becomes an iron-like bond (pāśa) that restricts freedom. The verse urges detachment from fruit-seeking and warns against greed masquerading as devotion.
Vyāsa uses a vivid metaphor: greedy men gather around a great fruit-bearing tree, encircle it, and remain near it hoping to obtain its fruits. Their closeness is not true reverence but attachment; they are described as bound by iron-like nooses, symbolizing the constraining power of desire.