Shloka 5
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
आकाशात् तु विकुर्वाणात् सर्वगन्धवह: शुचि: । बलवान जायते वायुस्तस्य स्पर्शो गुणो मत:,तत्पश्चात् जब आकाशमें विकार होता है, तब उससे पवित्र और सम्पूर्ण गन्धोंको वहन करनेवाले बलवान वायुतत्त्वका आविर्भाव होता है। उसका गुण स्पर्श! माना गया है
ākāśāt tu vikurvāṇāt sarvagandhavahaḥ śuciḥ | balavān jāyate vāyus tasya sparśo guṇo mataḥ ||
Vyāsa explains the sequence of elemental manifestation: when space (ākāśa) undergoes modification, there arises the powerful principle of wind (vāyu), pure and capable of carrying all fragrances. The distinctive quality assigned to wind is touch (sparśa).
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a step in the ordered evolution of the elements: from the transformation of ākāśa arises vāyu, whose defining attribute is sparśa (touch). Each element is known by its specific guṇa, aiding philosophical discernment.
Vyāsa is presenting a doctrinal explanation within Śānti Parva’s instruction: a cosmological account of how elemental principles manifest sequentially and how their characteristic qualities are identified.