Shloka 14
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
धमखियानेषु सर्वेषु सत्याख्याने च यद् वसु । दशेदमृक्सहस्राणि निर्मथ्यामृतमुद्भुतम्
vyāsa uvāca | dharmākhyāneṣu sarveṣu satyākhyāne ca yad vasu | daśedam ṛk-sahasrāṇi nirmathyāmṛtam adbhutam | yathā kūrma ihāṅgāni prasārya viniyacchati | evam evendriya-grāmaṃ buddhiḥ sṛṣṭvā niyacchati |
Vyāsa berkata: Dalam segala kisah yang mengajarkan Dharma, dan dalam segala riwayat yang menegakkan Kebenaran, inilah harta intinya. Ia laksana nektar menakjubkan yang disuling dengan menggaul sepuluh ribu bait Ṛgveda. Seperti kura-kura menghulurkan anggota lalu menariknya kembali, demikian juga intelek (buddhi) mengerahkan seluruh kumpulan indera ke luar menuju objek-objeknya, lalu menahan dan menariknya kembali—menunjukkan bahawa penguasaan diri ialah jantung dharma dan kebenaran.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the essence of dharma and truth is inner mastery: the intellect should be able to deploy the senses when needed and withdraw them from sense-objects, like a tortoise drawing in its limbs.
Vyāsa presents a distilled ‘nectar’ of teaching—claimed as an essence extracted from vast Vedic material—and illustrates it with a vivid simile: the tortoise’s withdrawal becomes a model for disciplined control of the senses by buddhi.