Shloka 144
कारणाद्भावचैतन्यं प्रवदंति हि तद्विदः । कर्णयोर्भूषणे नेत्रे नेत्रयोः श्रवणाविमौ
kāraṇādbhāvacaitanyaṃ pravadaṃti hi tadvidaḥ | karṇayorbhūṣaṇe netre netrayoḥ śravaṇāvimau
തത്ത്വജ്ഞർ പറയുന്നു: ദേഹഭാവത്തിലെ ചൈതന്യം കാരണത്തിൽ നിന്നാണ് ഉദ്ഭവിക്കുന്നത്; കാതുകളുടെ ആഭരണം കണ്ണുകൾ, കണ്ണുകളുടെ ആശ്രയം ഈ രണ്ടും—ശ്രവണം.
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa context)
Concept: Consciousness-in-embodiment is spoken of as arising with a causal basis; the senses mutually ‘ornament’ and support one another—seeing and hearing are interlinked.
Application: Guard both what you see and what you hear: curate inputs (darśana/śravaṇa). Replace gossip and seductive imagery with kīrtana, śāstra-śravaṇa, and darśana of the Lord.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A teaching tableau: a sage points to a diagram-like mandala where the senses are shown as lotus petals linked by golden threads—eyes and ears mirrored as mutual ornaments. Behind the mandala, a subtle causal chain descends from a luminous source, suggesting kāraṇa giving rise to embodied awareness.","primary_figures":["a teaching sage (tadvid)","students (śiṣyas)","symbolic mandala of senses"],"setting":"Hermitage classroom under a banyan tree; palm-leaf manuscripts; a chalked yantra on a wooden board.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["dawn gold","banyan green","ink black","lotus white","ochre"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: central sage with gold leaf halo teaching disciples; a stylized mandala showing eyes and ears as jeweled ornaments connected by gold threads; rich reds/greens, ornate borders, embossed gold leaf for the causal ‘source’ above, traditional South Indian didactic iconography.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: serene dawn under a banyan; sage and students with refined faces; a delicate mandala drawn on cloth/palm leaf showing interlinked senses; cool natural palette with gentle gold accents, lyrical clarity and contemplative mood.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines; sage seated in teaching posture; large symbolic eyes and ears in a circular yantra; strong yellow-red-green pigments; the causal source as a bright circular aura at the top, temple-wall instructional aesthetic.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: lotus-petal mandala where each petal is an eye or ear motif; intricate floral borders; deep blue background with gold; small vignettes of śravaṇa-kīrtana and darśana to show devotional application of sensory discipline."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Bhupali","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"serene","sound_elements":["soft tanpura drone","rustling leaves","distant conch","measured silence between pādas"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: kāraṇādbhāvacaitanyaṃ = kāraṇāt + bhāva-caitanyam; tadvidaḥ = tad-vidaḥ (tatpurusha); final pāda is nominal/appositional: ‘of the ears—ornaments are the eyes; of the eyes—these two ears (are) the hearing’ (elliptic copula).
FAQs
It presents consciousness in worldly experience (bhāva-caitanya) as dependent on an originating cause, aligning with classical Indian causal explanations of mind and awareness rather than treating embodied cognition as independent.
It poetically states the mutual complementarity of the senses: sight enhances and ‘adorns’ hearing in worldly functioning, while hearing in turn guides and completes what the eyes perceive—each sense gains fullness through the other.
It encourages balanced, disciplined use of the senses—recognizing that perception is holistic and easily distorted if one faculty dominates—supporting careful listening, attentive seeing, and thoughtful discernment.