Shloka 4

Jājali’s Austerities and the Summons to Tulādhāra (जाजलि–तुलाधार-इतिहासः)

Devanagari script

उपासते महावृक्ष॑ सुलुब्धास्तत्फलेप्सव: । आयसै: संयुता: पाशै: फलदं परिवेष्ट्य तम्‌,लोभी मनुष्य लोहेकी जंजीरोंके समान वासनाके बन्धनोंमें बँधकर उस फलदायक महान्‌ वृक्षको चारों ओरसे घेरकर आस-पास बैठे हैं और उसके फलको प्राप्त करना चाहते हैं

Transliteration

upāsate mahāvṛkṣaṃ sulubdhās tat-phalepṣavaḥ | āyasaiḥ saṃyutāḥ pāśaiḥ phaladaṃ pariveṣṭya tam ||

Translation

ویاس نے کہا—لالچی لوگ اس کے پھل کی آرزو میں پھل دینے والے عظیم درخت کی پرستش کرتے ہیں۔ لوہے کے پھندوں جیسے خواہشات کے بندھنوں میں جکڑے ہوئے وہ اس پھل بخش درخت کو چاروں طرف سے گھیر کر بیٹھ جاتے ہیں اور نفع کی امید اور تڑپ کے ساتھ اس کا پھل پانا چاہتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• उपासते: they sit near / attend upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• महावृक्षम्: the great tree
• महावृक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महावृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सुलुब्धाः: very greedy / covetous
• सुलुब्धाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुलुब्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तत्: of that (tree)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (समासे), एकवचन

• फल: fruit
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (समासे), एकवचन

• ईप्सवः: desiring / seeking
• ईप्सवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईप्सु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• आयसैः: with iron (made of iron)
• आयसैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आयस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• संयुताः: joined / furnished (with)
• संयुताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-युज् (धातु) → संयुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पाशैः: with nooses / fetters
• पाशैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• फलदम्: fruit-giving
• फलदम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: फलद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• परिवेष्ट्य: having encircled / surrounding
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-वेष्ट् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययः), कर्तरि, true

• तम्: that (tree)
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• mahāvṛkṣa (great tree)
• phala (fruit)
• āyasa-pāśa (iron bonds/nooses)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Craving for results (phala) turns the mind into a captive: people ‘worship’ what they want to exploit, yet their very desire becomes an iron-like bond (pāśa) that restricts freedom. The verse urges detachment from fruit-seeking and warns against greed masquerading as devotion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa uses a vivid metaphor: greedy men gather around a great fruit-bearing tree, encircle it, and remain near it hoping to obtain its fruits. Their closeness is not true reverence but attachment; they are described as bound by iron-like nooses, symbolizing the constraining power of desire.