Shloka 12
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
प्राण: स्पर्शश्व॒ चेष्टा च वायोरेते गुणा: स्मृता: । इति सर्वगुणा राजन् व्याख्याता: पाड्चभौतिका:
prāṇaḥ sparśaś ca ceṣṭā ca vāyor ete guṇāḥ smṛtāḥ | iti sarvaguṇā rājan vyākhyātāḥ pāñcabhautikāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Life-breath, touch, and motion—these three are remembered as the qualities of Wind. Thus, O King, I have explained the complete set of elemental qualities belonging to the five great elements.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the defining qualities of the wind-element—vital breath (prāṇa), touch (sparśa), and motion (ceṣṭā)—and concludes a systematic exposition of the qualities of the five great elements (pañcabhūta).
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira in philosophical analysis of nature and the elements; here he specifies Vāyu’s attributes and states that the full elemental account has been completed.