Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 24

अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः

Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’

Devanagari script

स्नेहेन तिलवत्‌ सर्व सर्गचक्रे निपीड्यते । तिलपीडैरिवाक्रम्य क्लेशैरज्ञानसम्भवै:

Transliteration

snehena tilavat sarva-sarga-cakre nipīḍyate | tila-pīḍair ivākramya kleśair ajñāna-sambhavaiḥ ||

Translation

Брахман сказал: «Из-за привязанности (sneha) существа сокрушаются в вращающемся колесе мирского творения, как кунжутные зёрна в маслобойне. Попираемые и выжимаемые страданиями, рождёнными неведением, они вновь и вновь перемалываются в круговороте бытия».

Word by Word

• स्नेहेन: by attachment/affection
• स्नेहेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नेह
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• तिलवत्: like sesame (seeds)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तिलवत्

• सर्वम्: all, the whole
• सर्वम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सर्गचक्रे: in the cycle of creation
• सर्गचक्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्गचक्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• निपीड्यते: is pressed/crushed
• Type: Verb
• Root: निपीड्
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Singular

• तिलपीडैः: by sesame-pressers (oilmen)
• तिलपीडैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिलपीड
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• आक्रम्य: having trodden upon/overpowered
• Type: Verb
• Root: आक्रम्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• क्लेशैः: by afflictions
• क्लेशैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लेश
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अज्ञानसम्भवैः: arising from ignorance
• अज्ञानसम्भवैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अज्ञानसम्भव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa, speaker)
• तिल (sesame seeds)
• तिलपीड/कोल्हू (oil-press)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Attachment (sneha) binds beings to the cycle of worldly becoming (sarga-cakra) and makes them vulnerable to afflictions (kleśa) that arise from ignorance (ajñāna). The verse urges cultivating discernment and detachment to avoid being ‘ground down’ by saṃsāra.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brāhmaṇa speaker uses a vivid everyday image—sesame seeds being crushed in an oil-press—to explain how ordinary people, due to attachment, are repeatedly oppressed by ignorance-born sufferings within the ongoing cycle of existence.