Chapter 17 — A Dull Brahmin Boy Becomes Learned

Literal. A dull Brahmin boy at Kavir, mocked by his peers, goes to Bhilavadi temple of Bhuvaneshwari, cuts his own tongue and offers it at the goddess's feet. Devi appears in his dream and directs him to Shri Guru under the Audumbar tree on the Krishna's bank. He goes; Shri Guru blesses him; the boy regains his tongue and acquires full Vedic knowledge.

Symbolic. Self-mortification as the cost of admission — the boy gives up the very faculty he is asking to be repaired. The pattern is consistent with the Sandeepak chapter (suffering as the price of liberation) and with the broader theme: capability is acquired only after a costly demonstration of seriousness.