Shloka 38
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
तत्रैकगुणमाकाशं शब्द इत्येव तत्स्मृतम् । तस्य शब्दस्य वक्ष्यामि विस्तरं विविधात्मकम्
tatraikaguṇam ākāśaṃ śabda ity eva tat smṛtam | tasya śabdasya vakṣyāmi vistaraṃ vividhātmakam | eṣa saptavidhaḥ prokto guṇa ākāśasambhavaḥ |
«وفي هذا، يُذكَر الفضاء (آكاشا) على أن له صفةً واحدة لا غير—وهي الصوت. والآن سأصف بتفصيل امتداد ذلك الصوت على وجوهٍ شتّى. وهذه الصفة، المولودة من الفضاء، يُقال إنها سباعية.» (ويُفهَم منها السلالم السبع: ṣaḍja، ṛṣabha، gāndhāra، madhyama، pañcama، dhaivata، niṣāda.)
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Space (ākāśa) is characterized by a single fundamental attribute—sound (śabda). That one attribute is then analyzed as having a structured, sevenfold manifestation, commonly understood as the seven musical notes (saptasvara).
Bharadvāja is teaching a philosophical account of the elements and their qualities. In this verse he identifies the defining quality of ākāśa as sound and announces a detailed explanation of sound’s differentiated forms, presented as seven kinds.