Mahabharata — Vana Parva, Shloka 108
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
बीजानि हाग्निदग्धानि न रोहन्ति पुनर्यथा । ज्ञानदग्धैस्तथा क्लेशैरनत्मा संयुज्यते पुन:
bījāni hāgnidagdhāni na rohanti punar yathā | jñānadagdhais tathā kleśair anātmā saṁyujyate punaḥ ||
जैसे अग्नि से दग्ध बीज फिर नहीं उगते, वैसे ही ज्ञान से अविद्या आदि क्लेश जलकर नष्ट हो जाने पर अनात्मा (मन-देह-समूह) का उनसे पुनः संयोग नहीं होता।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that genuine knowledge eradicates the very seed of affliction (ignorance and its derivatives). When the root-causes are destroyed, suffering and bondage do not reappear—like fire-burnt seeds that can no longer germinate.
In the Vana Parva’s discourse setting, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in a reflective, philosophical mode, using a vivid metaphor to explain how inner transformation through knowledge prevents the return of mental afflictions and the cycle of renewed bondage.
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