Direct statements are called śruti. They are independent utterances (nirapekṣa-ravā śrutiḥ, Artha-saṅgraha 16) that convey their meaning without any intermediate steps, as is the case with indirect instruction. A direct statement of this sort is supremely powerful and can override any indirect means of interpretation. The hermeneutics of textual analysis is the subject matter of Jaimini-sūtra 3.3.14, which has been cited in this section. The declaration kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam is taken as a śruti statement, direct and unambiguous. The statement of Mahākāla, on the other hand, is not direct.

Mahākāla’s statement, therefore, should be taken as a liṅga, or inferential mark, and not as śruti. The power of words is called liṅga. A liṅga is always overridden by śruti, because to apply the former, something has to be assumed. In this case, we have to suppose that Mahākāla is specifying the difference between Himself as Bhagavān and Kṛṣṇa as His aṁśa. Such an assumption, however, contradicts the śruti statement and is therefore rejected.