Shloka 21
Abhaya-Itihāsa: Karma, Indriyas, and the Non-sensory Brahman
Brāhmaṇī–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda
'सूँघनेवाला, खानेवाला, देखनेवाला, स्पर्श करने-वाला, पाँचवाँ श्रवण करनेवाला एवं मनन करनेवाला और समझनेवाला--ये सात श्रेष्ठ ऋत्विज् हैं
ghrāṇakartā bhoktā draṣṭā sparśakartā pañcamaḥ śrotā mananīyaḥ boddhā ca—ete sapta śreṣṭhā ṛtvijaḥ
वायुरुवाच— घ्राता भक्षयिता द्रष्टा स्प्रष्टा पञ्चमः श्रोता । मन्ता बोद्धा च विज्ञेयः—सप्तैते श्रेष्ठऋत्विजः ॥
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
True ritual excellence is internal: the senses and the mind—smelling, tasting/eating, seeing, touching, hearing, reflecting, and understanding—must be disciplined and aligned with discernment. When governed ethically, they function as the ‘best priests’ conducting one’s inner sacrifice.
Vāyu-deva delivers an instructive statement redefining ‘ṛtvij-s’ (sacrificial priests) as the seven inner faculties. The passage shifts attention from external rites to the moral and contemplative regulation of perception and thought.