Shloka 24
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
अभिमानो मृषावादो लोभो मोहस्तथाक्षमा | लिज्ञरानि रजसस्तानि वर्तन्ते हेत्वहेतुत:
abhimāno mṛṣāvādo lobho mohastathākṣamā | liṅgāni rajasastāni vartante hetvahetutaḥ ||
Vyāsa explique que certains défauts intérieurs sont des marques indubitables de la qualité rajas : l’orgueil, la parole mensongère, l’avidité, l’égarement et l’intolérance. Qu’ils naissent d’une cause manifeste ou surgissent sans cause claire, leur présence dans la conduite d’un homme révèle la domination de rajas : un esprit mû par l’agitation plutôt que par la clarté et la retenue.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
These five faults—egoism, lying, greed, delusion, and intolerance—are presented as diagnostic signs of rajas. Their appearance, whether triggered by circumstances or arising spontaneously, indicates a mind dominated by passion and agitation rather than sattva (clarity) and restraint.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is characterizing the guṇas by their observable symptoms. Here he identifies behaviors and mental tendencies that reveal rajas, guiding the listener toward ethical self-assessment and cultivation of steadiness and truth.