Shloka 7
अन्तर्वन-विद्यारण्योपमा
The Allegory of the Inner Forest of Knowledge
तस्मिन् वने सप्त महाद्रुमाश्न फलानि सप्तातिथयश्न सप्त । सप्ताश्रमा: सप्त समाधयश्नव दीक्षाश्न सप्तैतदरण्यरूपम्,वहाँ सात बड़े-बड़े वृक्ष हैं, सात उन वृक्षोंके फल हैं तथा सात ही उन फलोंके भोक्ता अतिथि हैं। सात आश्रम हैं। वहाँ सात प्रकारकी समाधि और सात प्रकारकी दीक्षाएँ हैं। यही उस वनका स्वरूप है
tasmin vane sapta mahādrumāḥ, sapta phalāni, sapta atithayaḥ (phalabhoktāraḥ) | sapta āśramāḥ, sapta samādhayaḥ, sapta dīkṣāś ca—etad araṇyarūpam ||
The brāhmaṇa said: “In that forest there are seven mighty trees; there are seven fruits upon them, and seven guests who partake of those fruits. There are seven hermitages as well—together with seven modes of meditative absorption and seven forms of consecratory discipline. Such is the very nature of that wilderness.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the forest as a disciplined moral-spiritual ecosystem: hospitality (atithi) and regulated practice (āśrama, dīkṣā) culminate in inner steadiness (samādhi). It suggests that true ‘wilderness’ is not chaos but an ordered field for dharma and self-cultivation.
A brāhmaṇa describes the distinctive features of a particular forest, enumerating sevenfold elements—trees, fruits, guests, hermitages, meditative states, and consecrations—presenting the place as a symbolic, structured arena of ascetic life and ethical observance.