Shloka 18
सप्तहोतृ-विधानम् एवं इन्द्रिय–मनःसंवादः
The Seven Hotṛs and the Debate of Senses and Mind
इच्धियाण्यूचु: एवमेतद् भवेत् सत्यं यथैतन्मन्यते भवान् | ऋते<5स्मानस्मदर्थास्त्वं भोगान् भुड्क्ते भवान् यदि
indriyāṇy ūcuḥ—evam etad bhavet satyaṃ yathaitad manyate bhavān | ṛte ’smān asmad-arthās tvaṃ bhogān bhuṅkte bhavān yadi ||
Die Sinne sagten: „Ja—das wäre wahr, wie Ihr meint, Herr, wenn Ihr die Gegenstände der Erfahrung ohne uns genießen könntet, die gerade zu diesem Zweck bestehen. Doch ohne unser Mitwirken—wie wolltet Ihr an den Genüssen teilhaben?“
मन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the interdependence of mind and senses in worldly experience: claims of independent enjoyment are challenged, implying that ethical self-mastery requires understanding how cognition (mind) and perception/action (senses) cooperate in producing desire and pleasure.
In a dialogue where Mind speaks and the Senses respond, the senses rebut the mind’s assumption by arguing that enjoyment of objects is impossible without their operation; they insist that if the mind could truly experience objects unaided, then its claim would be valid.