Shloka 15
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
नवनीतं यथा दध्नः काष्ठादग्निर्यथैव च । तथैव विदुषां ज्ञानं पुत्र हेतो: समुद्धूतम्
navanītaṁ yathā dadhnaḥ kāṣṭhād agnir yathaiva ca | tathaiva viduṣāṁ jñānaṁ putra hetoḥ samuddhūtam || yad ūrdhva-pādatayor avāṅ-mūrdhnaś ca paśyati | etasminn eva kṛtye tu vartate buddhir uttamā ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Wahai anakku, sebagaimana mentega dikisar keluar daripada dadih, dan api dibangkitkan daripada kayu, demikian juga ajaran pembebasan ini—yang melahirkan pengetahuan sejati—telah diekstrak untuk para bijaksana dengan mengisar kitab-kitab. Dan apa pun yang dilihat manusia sebagai ‘aku’ dalam tubuh—dari tapak kaki ke atas dan dari kepala ke bawah—pada kerja inilah intelek tertinggi (buddhi) sedang berfungsi. Rasa ‘aku’ dalam tubuh, pada hakikatnya, hanyalah suatu perubahan bentuk intelek.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberating knowledge is not invented but extracted as an essence through disciplined inquiry—like butter from curd or fire from wood. The verse also points to a key psychological insight: the sense of ‘I’ tied to the body is a function (a modification) of buddhi, not the true Self; recognizing this supports detachment and the pursuit of mokṣa.
Vyāsa addresses his ‘son’ (the listener in the discourse) and justifies the mokṣa-śāstra he is presenting: it is distilled from the broader śāstric tradition. He then analyzes embodied self-perception, explaining that the intellect’s activity constructs the body-centered ‘I’-sense.