Shloka 21
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
अतो गुह्ुतरार्थ तदध्यात्ममतिमानुषम् | यत् तन्महर्षिभिदर्दृष्ट वेदान्तेषु च गीयते
ato guhūtarārtha tad adhyātmamatimānuṣam | yat tan maharṣibhir dṛṣṭaṃ vedānteṣu ca gīyate || yat tu santāpasaṃyuktaṃ kāye manasi vā bhavet | pravṛttaṃ raja ity evaṃ tatra cāpy upalakṣayet ||
Vyāsa berkata: Oleh itu, sesuai dengan pertanyaanmu, aku akan mengajarkan kebijaksanaan Diri yang lebih tersembunyi dan lebih halus—suatu pengetahuan melampaui manusia biasa, yang disedari secara langsung oleh para maharṣi dan dipuji dalam Vedānta, yakni Upaniṣad. Dan apabila terlihat timbul keadaan derita yang membakar atau kegelisahan dalam tubuh atau dalam minda, hendaklah dikenali bahawa di situlah rajas—sifat nafsu dan gelisah—sedang aktif.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vyāsa frames his instruction as a deeper adhyātma (inner, Self-oriented) doctrine validated by seers and echoed in the Upaniṣads, then gives a practical diagnostic: distressful agitation in body or mind is a sign that rajas—the restless, passionate guṇa—has become active.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa responds to a questioner by promising a more esoteric spiritual teaching and immediately begins explaining how to recognize the play of the guṇas in lived experience, starting with the mark of rajas.