Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 49
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
रूक्ष: शीतस्तथैवोष्ण: स्निग्धो विशद एव च
rūkṣaḥ śītastathaivoṣṇaḥ snigdho viśada eva ca
Vāyu-deva said: “The qualities apprehended through touch are described as dry, cold, hot, unctuous, and clear. In this way, the wise—Brahmins who are accomplished, righteous, and devoted to true knowledge—have properly set forth, according to rule, the detailed account of the wind’s tactile attributes.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames sensory experience (especially touch) as analyzable into distinct qualities and presents this analysis as a disciplined, authoritative teaching transmitted by realized and dharma-knowing sages—linking correct knowledge of nature with ethical and scriptural order.
Vāyu-deva is speaking in a didactic context, enumerating and characterizing the tactile qualities associated with the wind principle, while affirming that such classification has been properly taught by accomplished Brahmin sages.