Shloka 16
Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)
मनश्ष्रति राजेन्द्र चारितं सर्वमिन्द्रिये:,राजेन्द्र! मन इन्द्रियोंद्वारा संचालित होकर सब विषयोंकी ओर जाता है। इन्द्रियाँ उन विषयोंको नहीं देखतीं, मन ही उन्हें निरन्तर देखता है। आँख मनके सहयोगसे ही रूपका दर्शन करती है, अपनी शक्तिसे नहीं
manas śrati rājendra cāritaṁ sarvam indriyaiḥ | rājendra! mana indriyair dvārā sañcālitaḥ sarva-viṣayān prati gacchati | indriyāṇi tān viṣayān na paśyanti; mana eva tān nirantaraṁ paśyati | cakṣuḥ manasaḥ sahāyenaiva rūpa-darśanaṁ karoti, na sva-śaktyā ||
Yājñavalkya said: “O king, the entire course of experience is governed by the mind in relation to the senses. The mind, working through the senses, moves toward all objects of perception. The senses themselves do not truly ‘see’ those objects; it is the mind alone that continually apprehends them. Even the eye perceives form only with the mind’s cooperation, not by its own independent power.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Perception is fundamentally a function of the mind: the senses are merely channels, while the mind is the true apprehender. Ethical self-mastery therefore requires disciplining the mind, not merely restraining the external organs.
In a didactic exchange in Śānti Parva, Yājñavalkya instructs the king on the psychology of cognition—explaining how the mind, operating through the senses, engages objects, and how even sight depends on mental attention.