Shloka 2

सप्तहोतृ-विधानम् एवं इन्द्रिय–मनःसंवादः

The Seven Hotṛs and the Debate of Senses and Mind

Devanagari script

घ्राणश्नक्षुश्न जिह्ना च त्वक्‌ श्रोत्रं चैव पञजचमम्‌ | मनो बुद्धिश्व सप्तैते होतार: पृथगाश्रिता:

Transliteration

ghrāṇaṃ cakṣuś ca jihvā ca tvak śrotraṃ caiva pañcamam | mano buddhiś ca saptaite hotāraḥ pṛthag-āśritāḥ ||

Translation

婆罗门说道：“鼻、眼、舌、肤，以及第五的耳——再加上心（manas）与慧（buddhi）——这七者便是‘hotṛ’（司祭之能、行祭之因），各自分住。虽同居于微细之身，却彼此不能觉知。美丽的女子啊，当依其本性识得这七位hotṛ。”

Word by Word

• {'ghrāṇa': 'nose

• organ of smell', 'cakṣus': 'eye

• organ of sight', 'jihvā': 'tongue

• organ of taste/speech', 'tvak': 'skin

• organ of touch', 'śrotra': 'ear

• organ of hearing', 'pañcama': 'the fifth (here: the ear as the fifth sense-organ listed)', 'manas': 'mind

• inner organ coordinating sense-data, intention, doubt', 'buddhi': 'intellect

• discriminative faculty, decision-making', 'sapta': 'seven', 'ete': 'these', 'hotāraḥ': 'hotṛs

• officiants/agents (metaphor for functional ‘performers’ of experience)', 'pṛthak': 'separately

• distinct from one another', 'āśritāḥ': 'abiding

• resting (in a locus)', 'sūkṣma-śarīra': 'subtle body (implied by the prose gloss in the given text)', 'svabhāva': 'own nature

• inherent function/character', 'śobhane': 'O beautiful one

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa speaker)
• घ्राण (nose)
• चक्षुस् (eyes)
• जिह्वा (tongue)
• त्वक् (skin)
• श्रोत्र (ear)
• मनस् (mind)
• बुद्धि (intellect)
• होतारः (hotṛs/agents)
• सूक्ष्म शरीर (subtle body; as referenced in the provided text)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the five sense-organs plus mind and intellect function as distinct ‘agents’ of experience. Even though they operate within the same subtle body, each has its own domain and does not directly ‘know’ the others; therefore one should discern their separate natures and functions.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brāhmaṇa speaker instructs a addressed listener (“O fair one”) using a ritual metaphor: the faculties are called ‘hotṛs’ (officiants), emphasizing that perception and cognition are performed by multiple distinct instruments rather than by a single undifferentiated faculty.