Shloka 4
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
महत: परमव्यक्तमव्यक्तात् परतो$मृतम् | अमृतान्न परं किंचित् सा काष्ठा सा परा गति:
vyāsa uvāca |
mahataḥ param avyaktam avyaktāt parato 'mṛtam |
amṛtān na paraṃ kiñcit sā kāṣṭhā sā parā gatiḥ |
prasāryeha yathāṅgāni kūrmaḥ saṃharate punaḥ |
tadvan mahānti bhūtāni yavīyaḥsu vikurvate |
Vyāsa berkata: “Di atas Prinsip Agung (mahat) berdiri Yang Tidak Termanifest (avyakta); dan di atas Yang Tidak Termanifest ialah Yang Tidak Mati—Diri Tertinggi. Tiada apa pun yang lebih tinggi daripada Hakikat Yang Tidak Mati itu; itulah batas tertinggi dan tujuan akhir. Seperti kura-kura menghulurkan anggota ke segala arah lalu menariknya kembali, demikian juga unsur-unsur agung mengembang ke dalam bentuk-bentuk jasad yang kecil lalu berundur semula—sentiasa menzahir dan meluluh.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reality is presented in an ascending order: beyond the cosmic intellect (mahat) is the Unmanifest (avyakta), and beyond that is the Deathless Supreme (amṛta). Nothing surpasses this Supreme; it is the final goal (parā gati). Embodied existence is depicted as a reversible transformation of the elements—arising and dissolving—so liberation lies in turning toward the Deathless rather than clinging to transient forms.
Vyāsa is instructing about the structure of reality and the fate of embodied beings. He uses a vivid simile—like a tortoise extending and withdrawing its limbs—to explain how the great elements repeatedly project into smaller bodies and then retract, emphasizing the cyclical nature of manifestation and dissolution under prakṛti, while pointing to the Supreme as the only ultimate refuge.