Shloka 16
महाभिष-गङ्गा-दर्शनं वसूनां शापकथनं च
Mahābhiṣa Encounters Gaṅgā; The Vasus Explain Their Curse
प्राणेन गन्धं जिह्लयाथो रसं च त्वचा स्पर्श मनसा वेद भावम् | इत्यष्टकेहोपदहितं हि विद्धि महात्मनां प्राणभृतां शरीरे,नासिकासे सुगन्ध लेता है। जिह्लासे रसका आस्वादन करता है। त्वचासे स्पर्श और मनसे आन्तरिक भावोंका अनुभव करता है। अष्टक! इस प्रकार महात्मा प्राणधारियोंके शरीरमें जीवकी स्थापना होती है
prāṇena gandhaṃ jihlayātho rasaṃ ca tvacā sparśaṃ manasā veda bhāvam | ity aṣṭakehopadahitaṃ hi viddhi mahātmanāṃ prāṇabhṛtāṃ śarīre ||
Aṣṭaka said: “By the vital breath one apprehends fragrance; by the tongue, taste; by the skin, touch; and by the mind, inner states and intentions. Know, O Aṣṭaka, that in the bodies of great-souled living beings the self is thus established and made operative—through these faculties—so that experience and moral awareness become possible.”
अष्टक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how embodied cognition works: prāṇa supports sensory and mental functions—smell, taste, touch, and the mind’s grasp of inner states—showing that the self’s presence in the body is evidenced through coordinated faculties. This underlines ethical life: discernment and responsibility depend on properly functioning senses and mind.
Aṣṭaka is instructing his interlocutor in a reflective, philosophical mode, describing how the living self operates within the body via prāṇa, the senses, and the mind, as part of a broader discussion on life, consciousness, and the nature of the embodied being.