Shloka 6
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
महाभूतानि सर्वाणि पूर्वसृष्टि: स्वयम्भुव: । भूयिष्ठ प्राणभृद्ग्रामे निविष्टानि शरीरिषु
mahābhūtāni sarvāṇi pūrvasṛṣṭiḥ svayambhuvaḥ | bhūyiṣṭhaṃ prāṇabhṛdgrāme niviṣṭāni śarīriṣu ||
Vyāsa said: “All the great elements are the earliest creation of the Self-born (Brahmā). They are present in fullest measure within the community of living beings, lodged in the bodies of all embodied creatures.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
That embodied life is fundamentally constituted by the five great elements, which originate in the primordial creation of the Self-born creator; recognizing this supports a reflective, dharmic understanding of the body as a composite rather than the true self.
Vyāsa is explaining a cosmological-metaphysical point in the Śānti Parva: the great elements were created first by Svayambhū and are abundantly present within all living beings’ bodies, grounding later discussion on the nature of the body and the principles sustaining life.