Shloka 23
Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna
Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties
यथा मत्स्योडद्धिरन्य: स्यात् सम्प्रयुक्तो तथैव तौ । मशकोदुम्बरौ वापि सम्प्रयुक्तो यथा सह
yathā matsyo ’bdhir anyaḥ syāt samprayukto tathaiva tau | maśakodumbarau vāpi samprayukto yathā saha ||
যেনেকৈ মাছ আৰু সাগৰ ভিন্ন স্বভাৱৰ, তথাপি স্বাভাৱিক সম্পৰ্কত সংযুক্ত থাকে—তেনেকৈ সেই দুয়ো। অথবা যেনেকৈ মশা আৰু উদুম্বৰ (গোলৰ) একেলগে হ’লে—অত্যন্ত অমিল হ’লেও—সংযুক্ত থাকে।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that association or linkage can exist even between fundamentally dissimilar beings; difference in nature does not prevent a real connection, whether by dependence, proximity, or circumstance.
Vyāsa illustrates a point through vivid comparisons—fish with the sea, and a mosquito with an udumbara—showing how ‘those two’ (previously mentioned in the discourse) are connected despite being unlike.