Shloka 6
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
शब्द: स्पर्शस्तथा रूप॑ रसो गन्धक्षु पञजचम: । क्रिया: करणनित्या: स्युरनित्या मोहसंज्ञिता:,शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और पाँचवाँ गन्ध तथा इनको ग्रहण करनेकी क्रियाएँ--ये कारणरूपसे (अर्थात् सूक्ष्म मनःस्वरूप होनेके कारण) नित्य हैं; अतः इनका भी प्रलयकालमें लय नहीं होता। जो (स्थूल पदार्थ) अनित्य हैं उनको मोहके नामसे पुकारा जाता है
śabdaḥ sparśas tathā rūpaṃ raso gandhaś ca pañcamaḥ | kriyāḥ karaṇa-nityāḥ syur anityā moha-saṃjñitāḥ ||
Dijo Vāyu-deva: «Sonido, tacto, forma, sabor y, como quinto, olor—junto con las operaciones sensoriales por las que son aprehendidos—son constantes en cuanto pertenecen al plano causal (sutil). Por ello, aun en el tiempo de la disolución no se extinguen como las cosas groseras. A lo impermanente y grosero se le da el nombre de “ilusión”, pues engaña a la mente haciéndole tomar lo transitorio por lo real.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the subtle, causal-level constituents (sense-objects and the sensory functions as rooted in subtle mind/causes) from gross, perishable manifestations. What is transient is labeled “moha” because attachment to it produces delusion; discernment of nitya vs. anitya supports detachment and clarity.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a philosophical register, explaining how perception works through the five sense-objects and their operations, and why gross impermanent things dissolve while subtler causal principles are treated as enduring in the context of pralaya.