Shloka 18
Puruṣottama-māhātmya
The Greatness of Puruṣottama Kṣetra
इंद्रियाणां मनो यद्वद्भूतानामवनी यथा । अश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां पवनः पवतां यथा ॥ १८ ॥
iṃdriyāṇāṃ mano yadvadbhūtānāmavanī yathā | aśvatthaḥ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃ pavanaḥ pavatāṃ yathā || 18 ||
ดุจใจเป็นประธานแห่งอินทรีย์ทั้งหลาย และแผ่นดินเป็นประธานแห่งสรรพภูต; ดุจอัศวัตถะ (ต้นโพธิ์/ไทรศักดิ์สิทธิ์) เป็นยอดแห่งไม้ทั้งปวง และลมเป็นยอดแห่งสิ่งที่พัดไหว; ฉันใด หลักธรรมสูงสุดนั้นก็พึงถือว่าเป็นยอดยิ่ง ฉันนั้น
Suta (narrating the Narada Purana discourse)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"shanta","secondary_rasa":"none","emotional_journey":"Quietly contemplative: the verse moves from inner psychology (mind) to nature (earth, aśvattha, wind) to affirm a principle of supremacy."}
FAQs
It teaches recognition of the “foremost” (śreṣṭha) principle through familiar hierarchies in nature—mind over senses, earth as support, aśvattha among trees, and wind among movers—guiding the reader to honor the supreme as the highest refuge.
By training the devotee to discern what is central and sustaining, the verse supports bhakti as single-pointed reverence: just as one honors what is pre-eminent in each domain, one should place the highest devotion in the Supreme (commonly understood in the Purana as Vishnu/Narayana).
The verse mainly reflects a Nyāya-like method of teaching by analogy (dṛṣṭānta) and classification (padārtha-viveka), useful for clear exposition in Vyākaraṇa/Nirukta-style interpretation, rather than prescribing a specific ritual or astrological rule.