Shloka 16

Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)

Devanagari script

मनश्ष्रति राजेन्द्र चारितं सर्वमिन्द्रिये:

Transliteration

manas śrati rājendra cāritaṁ sarvam indriyaiḥ | rājendra! mana indriyair dvārā sañcālitaḥ sarva-viṣayān prati gacchati | indriyāṇi tān viṣayān na paśyanti; mana eva tān nirantaraṁ paśyati | cakṣuḥ manasaḥ sahāyenaiva rūpa-darśanaṁ karoti, na sva-śaktyā ||

Translation

耶若那伐迦罗说道：“大王啊，一切经验之行程，皆由心与诸根相应而主宰。心借诸根而运作，趋向一切所缘之境。诸根本身并不真正‘见’彼境；唯有心恒常摄受、了知。即便是眼根，也唯赖心之协助方能见色，并非凭其自身独立之力。”

Word by Word

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• स्रति: moves/flows/goes
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृ
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• चारितम्: conduct/behavior
• चारितम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चारित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सर्वम्: all/entire
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इन्द्रियैः: by/through the senses
• इन्द्रियैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• Rājendra (the king addressed)
• mind (manas)
• sense faculties (indriyas)
• eye (cakṣuḥ)
• objects of sense (viṣayas)
• form (rūpa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Perception is fundamentally a function of the mind: the senses are merely channels, while the mind is the true apprehender. Ethical self-mastery therefore requires disciplining the mind, not merely restraining the external organs.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic exchange in Śānti Parva, Yājñavalkya instructs the king on the psychology of cognition—explaining how the mind, operating through the senses, engages objects, and how even sight depends on mental attention.