Shloka 16
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
स््नातकानामिदं शास्त्र वाच्यं पुत्रानुशासनम् । तदिदं नाप्रशान्ताय नादान्तायातपस्विने
vyāsa uvāca | snātakānām idaṃ śāstraṃ vācyaṃ putrānuśāsanam | tad idaṃ nāpraśāntāya nādāntāyātapasmine | guṇān nenīyate buddhir buddhir evendriyāṇy api | manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhāni sarvāṇi buddhy-abhāve kuto guṇāḥ ||
毗耶娑说：此教——为子嗣之训诫——当传与已毕严整学徒之行、守持誓戒者。此解脱之论，不可授与心未寂静者、诸根未调伏者、亦非勤修苦行者。盖由慧（buddhi）而人被引向诸德，亦由慧而诸根得以统摄。既然心与其余诸机能（合为六）皆依慧而立，若无真实辨别，又何由生起德行？
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation-teaching should be given only to a qualified, disciplined recipient: one who is calm, self-restrained, and committed to tapas. Virtue and self-mastery depend on buddhi (discernment); without it, the mind and senses cannot be rightly governed, and ethical qualities do not take root.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa lays down a rule of transmission: this ‘instruction to a son’—a mokṣa-oriented doctrine—is to be taught selectively. He justifies this by explaining the inner hierarchy: buddhi guides virtues and regulates the senses; without discernment, the mental-sensory complex cannot sustain dharmic qualities.