Shloka 1
Jājali’s Austerities and the Summons to Tulādhāra (जाजलि–तुलाधार-इतिहासः)
व्यासजी कहते हैं--बेटा! मनुष्यकी हृदयभूमिमें मोहरूपी बीजसे उत्पन्न हुआ एक विचित्र वृक्ष है
vyāsa uvāca—vatsa! manuṣyasya hṛdayabhūmau mohākhya-bījāt utpannaḥ ekaḥ vicitraḥ vṛkṣaḥ asti, yasya nāma kāmaḥ. krodhaś ca abhimānaś ca tasya mahā-skandhau. kartum icchā tasmin jala-siñcana-pātram iva. ajñānaṃ tasya mūlam. pramāda eva tasya siñcanīyaṃ jalam. pareṣāṃ doṣa-darśanaṃ tasya pattram, pūrva-janmani kṛta-pāpāni ca tasya sāra-bhāgāḥ.
毗耶娑说道：“孩子啊，在人的心地之中，生长着一株奇异之树，由名为‘迷妄’的种子而生；此树名为‘欲’。嗔怒与我慢是它粗大的树干。欲行之冲动，如同浇灌它的器皿。无明是它的根；放逸是滋养它的水。窥见他人过失是它的叶，而前生所作诸罪业是它的内髓。如此，欲望便在一人之内牢牢扎根，蔓延扩展。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire (kāma) is portrayed as an inner tree rooted in ignorance and sprouting from delusion; it is strengthened by heedlessness, supported by anger and pride, and spreads through fault-finding and karmic residues. Ethical progress requires cutting this growth at its root—through vigilance, knowledge, and restraint.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Vyāsa addresses his listener affectionately and delivers a moral-psychological allegory: he maps common mental afflictions onto parts of a tree to show how desire arises, is nourished, and becomes entrenched in the human heart.