Shloka 17
Vāc–Manas Saṃvāda: Prāṇa-Apāna and the Primacy Debate (वाक्–मनस् संवादः)
यस्तु तं विषयं गच्छेन्मन्त्रो वर्ण: स्वरोडपि वा | तन्मनो जड़मो नाम तस्मादसि गरीयसी,जो मन्त्र, वर्ण अथवा स्वर उस अलौकिक विषयको प्रकाशित करता है, उसका अनुसरण करनेवाला मन भी यद्यपि जंगम नाम धारण करता है तथापि वाणीस्वरूपा तुम्हारे द्वारा ही मनका उस अतीन्द्रिय जगतमें प्रवेश होता है। इसलिये तुम मनसे भी श्रेष्ठ एवं गौरवशालिनी हो
yastu taṁ viṣayaṁ gacchen mantro varṇaḥ svaro 'pi vā | tanmano jaḍamo nāma tasmād asi garīyasī ||
The Brāhmaṇa said: “That transcendent object which is reached—whether through mantra, through articulated syllables, or even through mere intonation—has a mind that follows it, though that mind is spoken of as inert. Since it is through you, who are of the nature of speech and sound, that the mind gains entry into that suprasensory realm, therefore you are greater and more venerable even than the mind.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sound in its sacred forms—mantra, syllabic articulation, and intonation—is presented as the gateway to the transcendent; speech (vāk) is therefore praised as superior even to the mind, because the mind enters higher reality through disciplined sound.
A Brāhmaṇa speaker is explaining a hierarchy of inner faculties: although the mind ‘follows’ the spiritual object, it is dependent on mantra and sound; thus the speaker extols speech/sound as the enabling power by which the mind reaches the suprasensory domain.