Shloka 8
सप्तहोतृ-विधानम् एवं इन्द्रिय–मनःसंवादः
The Seven Hotṛs and the Debate of Senses and Mind
घ्राणं जिह्ना तथा श्रोत्रं वाड्मनो बुद्धिरेव च । न रूपाण्यधिगच्छन्ति चक्षुस्तान्यधिगच्छति,नासिका, जीभ, कान, त्वचा, मन और बुद्धि--ये रूपका ज्ञान नहीं प्राप्त कर सकते; किंतु नेत्र इनका अनुभव करते हैं
ghrāṇaṁ jihvā tathā śrotraṁ vāṅ-mano buddhir eva ca | na rūpāṇy adhigacchanti cakṣus tāny adhigacchati ||
The brāhmaṇa said: “The nose, the tongue, the ear, speech, the mind, and even the intellect do not apprehend forms. It is the eye alone that directly grasps them.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Each sense-faculty has its proper object: forms (rūpa) are known through the eye, not through smell, taste, hearing, speech, mind, or intellect by themselves. The verse promotes discernment—knowing which faculty yields which kind of knowledge—so judgments and actions are not based on category-mistakes.
A brāhmaṇa speaker is explaining how cognition works by distinguishing the capacities of the senses and inner faculties. The point is didactic: to ground a broader teaching in clear analysis of perception and the limits of each instrument of knowledge.