Shloka 15
महाभिष-गङ्गा-दर्शनं वसूनां शापकथनं च
Mahābhiṣa Encounters Gaṅgā; The Vasus Explain Their Curse
स जायमानो विगृहीतमात्र: संज्ञामधिष्ठाय ततो मनुष्य: । स श्रोत्राभ्यां वेदयतीह शब्दं सवै रूप॑ पश्यति चक्षुषा च,वह गर्भ बढ़कर जब सम्पूर्ण अवयवोंसे सम्पन्न हो जाता है, तब चेतनताका आश्रय ले योनिसे बाहर निकलकर मनुष्य कहलाता है। वह कानोंसे शब्द सुनता है, आँखोंसे रूप देखता है
sa jāyamāno vigṛhītamātraḥ saṃjñām adhiṣṭhāya tato manuṣyaḥ | sa śrotrābhyāṃ vedayatīha śabdaṃ sa vai rūpaṃ paśyati cakṣuṣā ca ||
A being, when it is born and has taken on a fully formed body, comes to rest upon consciousness and, emerging from the womb, is called a human. Here in the world it apprehends sound through the ears, and it perceives form through the eyes.
अष्टक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human identity is marked by embodied completeness joined with consciousness, and by the capacity to know the world through the senses; therefore, being human implies ethical responsibility in how perception and awareness are used.
Aṣṭaka is describing the moment a being becomes a ‘human’—once fully formed, it emerges from the womb supported by consciousness and begins to apprehend sound through the ears and form through the eyes.