Shloka 23
अन्तर्वन-विद्यारण्योपमा
The Allegory of the Inner Forest of Knowledge
शममप्यत्र शंसन्ति विद्यारण्यविदो जना: । तदारण्यमभिप्रेत्य यथाधीरभिजायत
śamam apy atra śaṃsanti vidyāraṇyavido janāḥ | tad āraṇyam abhipretya yathādhīr abhijāyate ||
ಇಲ್ಲಿ ‘ವಿದ್ಯಾ-ಅರಣ್ಯ’ವನ್ನು ತಿಳಿದವರು ಶಮ (ಮನೋನಿಗ್ರಹ)ವನ್ನೂ ಪ್ರಶಂಸಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ। ಆ ಅಂತರಂಗ ಅರಣ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶದಿಂದ ಶಮವನ್ನು ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ; ಅದರಿಂದ ಬುದ್ಧಿ ಧೀರವಾಗಿ ಸ್ಥಿರವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ।
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that śama—mental restraint and inner calm—is essential for true knowledge. Those who understand the ‘forest of knowledge’ praise self-control because it stabilizes the intellect, making it capable of grasping the highest reality.
A Brahmin speaker explains a spiritual principle using the metaphor of a forest: to ‘enter’ the forest of knowledge (the domain of Brahman-realization), one must cultivate śama, which gives steadiness and clarity to the mind and intellect.