Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 456
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
ज्योतिषश्च गुणो रूप॑ं रूपं च बहुधा स्मृतम् शब्द, स्पर्श और रूप--ये तेजके तीन गुण कहे गये हैं। इनमें रूप ही तेजका मुख्य गुण है। रूपके भी कई भेद माने गये हैं
jyotiṣaś ca guṇo rūpaṃ rūpaṃ ca bahudhā smṛtam | śabdaḥ sparśaś ca rūpaṃ ca—tejasas trayo guṇāḥ smṛtāḥ | teṣu rūpam eva tejasas pradhāna-guṇaḥ | rūpasyāpi bahavo bhedāḥ manyante |
Vāyu-deva explains that for the element of fire (tejas), the recognized qualities are sound, touch, and form. Among these, form is regarded as the principal mark of fire, and even form itself is understood to have many varieties. The teaching frames perception as a disciplined inquiry: by knowing the defining qualities of things, one learns to distinguish reality from confusion and to act with clarity rather than impulse.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the element fire (tejas) is known through specific perceptible qualities—sound, touch, and especially form—and that careful discrimination of such qualities supports clear understanding and right action.
Vāyu-deva is instructing (in a philosophical register) about the properties of the elements, emphasizing that form is the chief distinguishing mark of fire and that form itself has many subtypes.