Shloka 4
Jājali’s Austerities and the Summons to Tulādhāra (जाजलि–तुलाधार-इतिहासः)
उपासते महावृक्ष॑ सुलुब्धास्तत्फलेप्सव: । आयसै: संयुता: पाशै: फलदं परिवेष्ट्य तम्,लोभी मनुष्य लोहेकी जंजीरोंके समान वासनाके बन्धनोंमें बँधकर उस फलदायक महान् वृक्षको चारों ओरसे घेरकर आस-पास बैठे हैं और उसके फलको प्राप्त करना चाहते हैं
upāsate mahāvṛkṣaṃ sulubdhās tat-phalepṣavaḥ | āyasaiḥ saṃyutāḥ pāśaiḥ phaladaṃ pariveṣṭya tam ||
ヴィヤーサは語った。「貪欲な人々はその果を求め、実を結ぶ大樹の周りに座して礼拝する。だが鉄のような投げ縄に縛られ、渇愛と利得への望みに駆られて、その果を与えるものを取り囲む。ここに示されるのは、欲望が崇敬を所有と束縛へと変え、結果への執着が求道者を自ら作った桎梏に閉じ込めるということだ。」
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Craving for results (phala) turns the mind into a captive: people ‘worship’ what they want to exploit, yet their very desire becomes an iron-like bond (pāśa) that restricts freedom. The verse urges detachment from fruit-seeking and warns against greed masquerading as devotion.
Vyāsa uses a vivid metaphor: greedy men gather around a great fruit-bearing tree, encircle it, and remain near it hoping to obtain its fruits. Their closeness is not true reverence but attachment; they are described as bound by iron-like nooses, symbolizing the constraining power of desire.