Shloka 16
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
अविशेषाणि चान्यानि कर्मयुक्तानि यानि तु । उभयत्र मनो ज्ञेयं बुद्धिस्तु द्वादशी भवेत्
aviśeṣāṇi cānyāni karmayuktāni yāni tu | ubhayatra mano jñeyaṃ buddhis tu dvādaśī bhavet ||
Vāyu-deva explains: “Among these faculties there are others as well, connected with action and functioning without essential difference in their nature. The mind should be understood as operating in both domains—cognition and action—linking the cognitive senses and the organs of action; and the intellect (buddhi) is counted as the twelfth.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a functional classification of the inner and outer faculties: the mind (manas) connects both knowledge and action, while the intellect (buddhi) is counted as the twelfth and serves as the decisive, guiding faculty. Ethical living depends on letting buddhi govern the mind’s engagement with the senses and actions.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a doctrinal explanation of the faculties (indriyas and inner organs), clarifying how cognition and action are coordinated through the mind and finalized through the intellect.