Shloka 17
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
नावेदविदुषे वाच्यं तथा नानुगताय च । नासूयकायानृजवे न चानिर्दिष्टकारिणे
nāvedaviduṣe vācyaṃ tathā nānugatāya ca | nāsūyakāyānṛjave na cānirdiṣṭakāriṇe || indriyāṇi nara pañca ṣaṣṭhaṃ tu mana ucyate | saptamīṃ buddhim evāhuḥ kṣetrajñaḥ punar aṣṭamam ||
Vyāsa dit : Il ne faut pas transmettre cet enseignement à celui qui n’est pas véritablement instruit, ni à celui qui est indiscipliné et ne suit pas la voie. Il ne doit pas non plus être enseigné à l’envieux, à l’esprit tortueux, ni à celui qui agit sans avoir été dûment guidé. En l’homme se trouvent cinq facultés des sens ; le sixième principe est appelé le mental (manas). Le septième est l’intellect (buddhi), et le huitième, encore, est le Connaisseur du Champ (kṣetrajña).
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches two linked points: (1) sacred or subtle knowledge should be given only to a qualified recipient—one who is disciplined, non-envious, straightforward, and guided by instruction; (2) the human constitution can be analyzed as five senses, mind as the sixth, intellect as the seventh, and the conscious knower (kṣetrajña) as the eighth—highlighting the hierarchy from sensory experience to inner discernment and finally to the witnessing self.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa lays down a rule of transmission (who should or should not be taught) and then states a doctrinal enumeration of the inner principles of a person—senses, mind, intellect, and the kṣetrajña—framing the discussion as a disciplined teaching meant for suitable students.