Shloka 39
बलवान् अभवद् वायुस् तस्य स्पर्शो गुणो मतः आकाशं शब्दमात्रं तु स्पर्शमात्रं समावृणोत्
balavān abhavad vāyus tasya sparśo guṇo mataḥ ākāśaṃ śabdamātraṃ tu sparśamātraṃ samāvṛṇot
Then Vāyu became potent; its distinctive attribute is held to be touch. And Ākāśa, whose nature is sound alone, was enveloped by touch alone.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The manifestation of vāyu with touch as its guṇa and the principle of guṇa-overlay as creation proceeds
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Vāyu emerges as a potent element characterized by touch, and the newly manifest quality overlays the prior element (ether) that had sound alone, illustrating progressive accretion of guṇas in bhūta-sarga.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: When sensory agitation arises (vāyu-like restlessness), return to the subtler ‘sound/space’ of awareness through breath regulation and mantra to re-center.
Vishishtadvaita: Ordered emergence ‘under the Supreme order’ coheres with the Lord’s governance of prakṛti—real transformation guided by divine will, not randomness.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse marks the step where Air manifests with the quality of touch, and Ether—defined by sound—becomes associated with the next emergent quality, showing the ordered layering of attributes in creation.
Parāśara presents a progressive model: each newly manifested principle carries a defining quality and, as evolution proceeds, subtler elements are described as being ‘covered’ or supplemented by the next quality.
Even while describing elemental mechanics, the Purana frames creation as a lawful unfolding sustained by the Supreme—Vishnu—whose sovereignty grounds the intelligible order of the cosmos.