Shloka 10
रूप॑ चक्षुस्तथा पाकस्त्रिविधं तेज उच्यते । रस: क्लेदश्न जिह्दा च त्रयो जलगुणा: स्मृता:,रूप, नेत्र और परिपाक--ये तीन तेजके कार्य बताये जाते हैं। रस, जिह्ना तथा क्लेद (गीलापन)--ये तीन जलके गुण अर्थात् कार्य माने गये हैं
rūpaṃ cakṣus tathā pākaḥ trividhaṃ teja ucyate | rasaḥ kledaś ca jihvā ca trayo jalaguṇāḥ smṛtāḥ ||
Bhīṣma explains that the functions attributable to fire (tejas) are three: visible form, the faculty of sight, and digestion (cooking/assimilation). Likewise, the functions attributable to water are three: taste, moisture, and the tongue.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an elemental analysis of experience: certain sensory and bodily functions are traced to the principles of fire (form/visibility, sight, digestion) and water (taste, moisture, tongue). This supports ethical self-discipline by encouraging discernment (viveka) about the body’s processes rather than identification with them.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues his post-war instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, offering philosophical classification of the body and senses. Here he enumerates the three functions associated with tejas and the three associated with water as part of a broader teaching on nature, embodiment, and right understanding.