Shloka 20
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
यद्यप्यस्य महीं दद्याद् रत्नपूर्णामिमां नर: । इदमेव ततः श्रेय इति मन्येत तत्त्ववित्
vyāsa uvāca |
yady apy asya mahīṁ dadyād ratnapūrṇām imāṁ naraḥ |
idam eva tataḥ śreya iti manyeta tattvavit |
tatra yat prītisaṁyuktaṁ kiñcid ātmani lakṣayet |
praśāntam iva saṁśuddhaṁ sattvaṁ tad upadhārayet |
ヴィヤーサは言った。「たとえ人が宝玉に満ちたこの全地を施そうとも、真理を知る者はなお、これこそがより高き善—すなわち知—であると判ずる。さらにこの点において、自らの内に、愛着を伴う喜び—清らかで、あたかも静謐なるもの—を見いだすなら、サットヴァ（sattva）の徳が起こり、働いていると知るべきである。」
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
True welfare (śreyas) is knowledge, not even the greatest material gift. A practical sign of sattva is an inner state of purified, quiet gladness; recognizing this helps one discern the mind’s movement toward clarity and virtue.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and right living, Vyāsa delivers a didactic comparison—jewel-filled earth versus knowledge—and then gives a diagnostic criterion for inner cultivation: noticing serene, purified joy as the mark of sattva arising.