Shloka 40
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
ऐश्वर्येण तु सर्वत्र स्थितोडपि पटहादिषु,अपने व्यापक स्वरूपसे तो शब्द सर्वत्र है, किंतु पटह (नगाड़े) आदिमें इसकी विशेषरूपसे अभिव्यक्ति होती है। मृदंग, भेरी, शंख, मेघ तथा रथकी घर्घराहट आदिमें जो कुछ शब्द सुना जाता है और जड या चेतनका जो कुछ भी शब्द श्रवणगोचर होता है, वह सब इन सात भेदोंके ही अन्तर्गत बताया गया है
aiśvaryeṇa tu sarvatra sthito 'pi paṭahādiṣu | sva-vyāpaka-svarūpeṇa tu śabdaḥ sarvatraiva, kintu paṭaha-ādiṣu tasya viśeṣataḥ abhivyaktiḥ bhavati | mṛdaṅga-bherī-śaṅkha-megha-ratha-ghargharāhaṭa-ādiṣu yaḥ kaścid śabdaḥ śrūyate, jaḍa-cetana-yoḥ ca yat kiñcid api śravaṇagocaraṃ śabdam, tat sarvam etebhyaḥ sapta-bhedebhya eva antarbhūtam iti kathitam |
Bharadvāja said: “Sound, by its pervasive nature, exists everywhere; yet it becomes distinctly manifest in instruments such as the kettledrum (paṭaha). Whatever sound is heard in the mṛdaṅga, the bherī, the conch, the clouds, or in the rumbling of chariots—and indeed any sound that comes within the range of hearing, whether arising from insentient things or living beings—all of it is taught to fall within these seven classifications.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sound is inherently all-pervading, but it becomes distinctly perceptible when conditioned by particular media (like drums, conch, thunder, chariots). All audible sounds—whether from inert objects or living beings—can be subsumed under a sevenfold classification.
Bharadvāja is explaining a doctrinal analysis of śabda (sound) in the Śānti Parva, using familiar examples (drums, conch, thunder, chariot-rumble) to show how an omnipresent principle becomes manifest and how all heard sounds fit into established categories.