Shloka 3
भूमिगुण-प्रश्नः
Inquiry into the qualities of Earth and the classification of beings
संजय उवाच पज्चेमानि महाराज महाभूतानि संग्रहात् । जगतीस्थानि सर्वाणि समान्याहुर्मनीषिण:,संजय बोले--महाराज! इस पृथ्वीपर रहनेवाली जितनी भी वस्तुएँ हैं, वे सब-की-सब संक्षेपसे पंचमहाभूतस्वरूप हैं। इसीलिये मनीषी पुरुष उन सबको 'सम्-' कहते हैं
sañjaya uvāca pañcemāni mahārāja mahābhūtāni saṅgrahāt | jagatīsthāni sarvāṇi samānyāhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, all things that exist here upon the earth are, in brief, constituted of the five great elements. Therefore, discerning sages describe them as sharing a common basis—being alike in their elemental nature.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
All worldly entities are reducible, in essence, to the five great elements; recognizing this shared elemental basis encourages a view of commonality behind apparent diversity.
Sanjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and introduces a reflective, philosophical point: whatever exists on earth can be summarized as composed of the five elements, as taught by sages.