Shloka 57
Self-Knowledge and the Allegory of the Five Elements & Senses
Karma, Association, and Rebirth
श्रवणावूचतुः । कार्याकार्यादिकं शब्दं लोकैरुक्तं शुभाशुभम् । शृणुयावः स्वकायस्थौ सत्यासत्ये प्रियाप्रिये
śravaṇāvūcatuḥ | kāryākāryādikaṃ śabdaṃ lokairuktaṃ śubhāśubham | śṛṇuyāvaḥ svakāyasthau satyāsatye priyāpriye
Śravaṇa nói: “Chúng ta, vẫn an trụ trong chính thân mình, nghe những lời người đời nói về điều nên làm và không nên làm—về điều cát tường và bất tường—về chân thật và hư vọng, cùng điều ưa thích và không ưa thích.”
Śravaṇa (one of a pair, speaking in the dual)
Concept: Hearing is the gateway through which moral categories—right/wrong, auspicious/inauspicious, true/false—enter awareness; discernment must govern what is received.
Application: Practice selective listening: reduce gossip and harmful speech; daily allocate time for śāstra/harināma listening so the ear becomes a purifier rather than a distractor.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Twin personified ears (Śravaṇa in dual form) sit like attentive sages within a luminous body-temple, receiving streams of syllables that split into two currents: bright, orderly mantras labeled satya-śubha, and dark, jagged words labeled asatya-aśubha. A calm buddhi-lotus above them filters the currents, turning the bright stream toward a Vishnu-shaped light in the heart.","primary_figures":["Śravaṇa (twin personified ears)","Buddhi (as a lotus or goddess-like figure)","Symbolic Vishnu-light in the heart"],"setting":"Inner-body sanctum visualized as a temple corridor with sound-waves as visible ribbons.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["golden ochre","pearl white","midnight blue","vermillion","jade green"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: two sage-like ear-deities seated symmetrically, receiving ribbon-like Sanskrit syllables; gold leaf sound-waves, gem-studded crowns, vermillion and emerald textiles, central heart-lotus with a Vishnu aura; ornate temple pillars and lamps.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical twin figures with refined faces, delicate sound-ribbons flowing from a distant crowd into a serene inner chamber; cool blues and soft golds, fine linework, minimal architecture, poetic symbolism of satya/asatya streams.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines of twin Śravaṇa figures, contrasting bright and dark sound-streams; strong yellow-red-green pigments, stylized lotus for buddhi above, central heart glow; decorative vine borders.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: concentric lotus rings as sound mandalas, twin Śravaṇa figures at the base, intricate floral borders; deep blue background with gold and white sound motifs, peacocks as symbols of attentive listening, central radiant lotus-heart."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["tanpura drone","soft temple bells","distant human murmurs","sudden hush (discernment)"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: श्रवणौ+ऊचतुः→श्रवणावूचतुः; लोकैः+उक्तम्→लोकैरुक्तम्; शुभ+अशुभम्→शुभाशुभम्
FAQs
It highlights moral discernment as expressed in ordinary human speech—people constantly judge actions as right/wrong, auspicious/inauspicious, true/false, and pleasing/unpleasing, and Śravaṇa notes that these judgments are heard while embodied.
Kārya/akārya frames ethics as duty versus prohibition, while śubha/aśubha frames the same field in terms of auspiciousness and harmfulness; together they cover both normative and experiential evaluations.
One should examine speech and social opinion carefully, cultivating discrimination between truth and falsehood and between what is genuinely beneficial versus merely pleasing.