Shloka 65
Vishnu-sahasranāma-style Japa: Vishnu as Cosmic Cause and Inner Self
Antaryāmin
शब्दात्मा चैव (३७०)वागात्मा स्पर्शात्मा पुरुषस्तथा / श्रोत्रात्मा च त्वगात्मा च जिह्वायाः परमस्तथा
śabdātmā caiva (370)vāgātmā sparśātmā puruṣastathā / śrotrātmā ca tvagātmā ca jihvāyāḥ paramastathā
Er ist wahrlich der Ātman als Klang; der Ātman als Rede (vāc); der Ātman als Berührung; und ebenso der im Innern wohnende Puruṣa. Er ist auch der Ātman als Hören und der Ātman als Haut; und in gleicher Weise ist Er das höchste Prinzip, das in der Zunge (Geschmack) weilt.
Lord Viṣṇu (in dialogue with Garuḍa/Vinatā-putra)
Concept: The Supreme is the Self of sound and speech, touch, and the indwelling Purusha; also the Self of hearing, skin, and the supreme principle in the tongue.
Vedantic Theme: Unity of consciousness across jñānendriyas and their functions; antaryāmin as the true ‘speaker’ and ‘hearer’.
Application: Practice ‘speech mindfulness’ (truthful, restrained vāṇī) and sensory restraint (pratyāhāra) by remembering the indweller in hearing, touch, and taste.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: subtle-body (sūkṣma-śarīra) mapping
Related Themes: Sequence continues: sense-qualities (1.15.64) to sense-organs (1.15.65–66) and deities (1.15.67)
FAQs
It teaches that sensory powers are not ultimate; they operate because the supreme indwelling Self (Puruṣa/Ātman) is present as their inner basis.
By grounding sense-functions in the subtle, indwelling Self, it supports the text’s broader doctrine that the jīva continues with subtle faculties beyond gross bodily death.
Practice restraint and mindfulness of speech and senses, remembering they are instruments of the inner Self—use them for dharmic action rather than impulse.