Shloka 17
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
नावेदविदुषे वाच्यं तथा नानुगताय च । नासूयकायानृजवे न चानिर्दिष्टकारिणे
nāvedaviduṣe vācyaṃ tathā nānugatāya ca | nāsūyakāyānṛjave na cānirdiṣṭakāriṇe || indriyāṇi nara pañca ṣaṣṭhaṃ tu mana ucyate | saptamīṃ buddhim evāhuḥ kṣetrajñaḥ punar aṣṭamam ||
毗耶娑说：此教不应传与不真学者，亦不应传与无纪律、不循正道者；也不应教与嫉妒者、心术乖僻者，或未经正当指示便妄行者。人身有五种感官；第六原理名为意（manas）。第七称为智（buddhi），第八则为“知田者”（kṣetrajña）。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches two linked points: (1) sacred or subtle knowledge should be given only to a qualified recipient—one who is disciplined, non-envious, straightforward, and guided by instruction; (2) the human constitution can be analyzed as five senses, mind as the sixth, intellect as the seventh, and the conscious knower (kṣetrajña) as the eighth—highlighting the hierarchy from sensory experience to inner discernment and finally to the witnessing self.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa lays down a rule of transmission (who should or should not be taught) and then states a doctrinal enumeration of the inner principles of a person—senses, mind, intellect, and the kṣetrajña—framing the discussion as a disciplined teaching meant for suitable students.