Shloka 24
सप्तहोतृ-विधानम् एवं इन्द्रिय–मनःसंवादः
The Seven Hotṛs and the Debate of Senses and Mind
यथा हि शिष्य: शास्तारं श्र॒त्यर्थमभिधावति । ततः श्रुतमुपादाय श्रुत्यर्थमुपतिछठति,जैसे शिष्य श्रुतिके अर्थको जाननेके लिये उपदेश करनेवाले गुरुके पास जाता है और उनसे श्रुतिके अर्थका ज्ञान प्राप्त करके फिर स्वयं उसका विचार और अनुसरण करता है, वैसे ही आप सोते और जागते समय हमारे ही दिखाये हुए भूत और भविष्य-विषयोंका उपभोग करते हैं
yathā hi śiṣyaḥ śāstāraṁ śruty-artham abhidhāvati | tataḥ śrutam upādāya śruty-artham upatiṣṭhati ||
“Just as a student runs to the teacher in order to understand the meaning of the revealed teaching, and then—having received what was heard—stands by that meaning through reflection and practice; so too, in your sleeping and waking, you experience only those objects of past and future that are shown by us (the inner faculties).”
मन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowledge is first received from an authoritative source (teacher/śruti), but it becomes effective only when the learner internalizes it—standing by its meaning through reflection and lived practice. Likewise, experience in waking and dream is mediated by inner faculties; the self encounters objects as presented by the mind.
Manas (the Mind) speaks, using the example of a disciple approaching a teacher for the meaning of śruti. The verse illustrates how understanding is acquired and then sustained, and it extends the analogy to explain that the experiencer’s waking and sleeping perceptions depend on what the mind presents.