Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 15

अन्तर्वन-विद्यारण्योपमा

The Allegory of the Inner Forest of Knowledge

Devanagari script

प्रज्ञावृक्षं मोक्षफलं शान्तिच्छायासमन्वितम्‌ । ज्ञानाश्रयं तृप्तितोयमन्तःक्षेत्रज्रभास्करम्‌

Transliteration

prajñāvṛkṣaṃ mokṣaphalaṃ śānticchāyāsamanvitam | jñānāśrayaṃ tṛptitoyam antaḥkṣetrajña-bhāskaram ||

Translation

Wika ng brāhmaṇa: “May isang kamangha-manghang panloob na kakahuyan: ang punongkahoy nito ay karunungan, ang bunga nito ay paglaya, at nakalatag dito ang malamig na lilim ng kapayapaan. Ang kaalaman ang kanlungan nito, ang pagkakasiya ang tubig nito, at sa loob nito ay nagniningning ang araw ng Nakaaalam sa Bukirin (ang Sarili), na nagliliwanag sa lahat mula sa kalooban.”

Word by Word

• {'prajñā': 'wisdom, discerning intelligence', 'vṛkṣa': 'tree', 'prajñāvṛkṣa': 'the ‘tree’ of wisdom (metaphor for inner cultivation)', 'mokṣa': 'liberation, release', 'phala': 'fruit, result', 'mokṣaphala': 'having liberation as its fruit', 'śānti': 'peace, tranquility', 'chāyā': 'shade, shelter', 'śānticchāyā': 'the shade of peace', 'samanvita': 'endowed with, accompanied by', 'jñāna': 'knowledge (especially spiritual knowledge)', 'āśraya': 'support, refuge, resting-place', 'jñānāśraya': 'having knowledge as its support/refuge', 'tṛpti': 'contentment, satisfaction', 'toya': 'water', 'tṛptitoya': 'water of contentment (that nourishes inner growth)', 'antaḥ': 'within, inner', 'kṣetrajña': 'knower of the field

• the Self/Ātman as the inner witness', 'bhāskara': 'sun, illuminator', 'kṣetrajña-bhāskara': 'the sun-like Self that illumines the inner realm'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (the Brahmin speaker)
• मोक्ष (liberation)
• क्षेत्रज्ञ (the Knower of the Field / Ātman)
• प्रज्ञा (wisdom)
• ज्ञान (spiritual knowledge)
• शान्ति (peace)
• तृप्ति (contentment)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Inner liberation is portrayed as an organic growth: wisdom is the tree, peace is its shade, knowledge is the sustaining refuge, and contentment is the nourishing water; the Self (kṣetrajña) shines within like the sun, making true understanding possible.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin speaker delivers a contemplative instruction using a forest/tree metaphor to describe the inner spiritual domain, emphasizing self-knowledge and tranquility as the path culminating in mokṣa.