Shloka 25
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
मृण्मये भाजने पक्वे यथा वै न श्यति द्रव: । तथा शरीरं तपसा तप्तं विषयमश्लुते
mṛṇmaye bhājane pakve yathā vai na śyati dravaḥ | tathā śarīraṃ tapasā taptaṃ viṣayam aśnute |
Parāśara said: “Just as a liquid placed in a well-fired earthen vessel neither seeps out nor is spoiled, so too a subtle body that has been ‘fired’ by austerity becomes firm and fit: it can partake of and experience the objects of the higher worlds (up to Brahmaloka) without being dissipated or degraded.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tapas (disciplined austerity) ‘hardens’ and stabilizes the inner constitution—like firing a clay pot—so that one can bear and properly undergo experiences (even refined, higher-world enjoyments) without leakage, dissipation, or moral/spiritual spoilage.
Parāśara is instructing through an analogy: as a well-fired earthen vessel securely holds liquid, so a body refined by austerity becomes capable and steady, able to attain and experience objects of enjoyment in higher realms without being undone by them.