Shloka 22
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
पृथिवी पज्चमं भूत॑ घ्राणश्वाध्यात्ममुच्यते
pṛthivī pañcamaṃ bhūtaṃ ghrāṇaś cādhyātmam ucyate
Vāyu-deva said: “Earth is spoken of as the fifth element, and smell is declared to be its corresponding inner principle.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps the cosmic element (pṛthivī, earth) to its characteristic sensory quality (gandha/ghrāṇa, smell) within the adhyātma framework, teaching a disciplined way to understand experience by correlating outer reality (elements) with inner faculties (sense-functions).
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a doctrinal enumeration: identifying the earth as one of the fundamental elements and stating that smell/olfaction is its corresponding inner principle, as part of a broader philosophical exposition on body, senses, and elements.