Shloka 353
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
वायव्यस्तु गुण: स्पर्श: स्पर्शश्व॒ बहुधा स्मृतः । वायुके दो गुण जानने चाहिये--शब्द और स्पर्श। वायुका प्रमुख गुण स्पर्श ही है, जिसके अनेक भेद माने गये हैं--
vāyavyas tu guṇaḥ sparśaḥ | sparśaś ca bahudhā smṛtaḥ ||
Bharadvāja dijo: «En el caso del elemento Aire (Vāyu), la cualidad definitoria es el tacto. Y este “tacto” se entiende como de muchas variedades». En esta enseñanza sobre los constituyentes del mundo y los sentidos, el punto es discernir cómo cada elemento se conoce por su propiedad característica, para cultivar claridad y desapego, y no confusión ante la experiencia sensorial.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Air (Vāyu) is chiefly characterized by the quality of touch (sparśa), and tactile experience is described as having multiple forms. The verse supports a systematic discernment of reality by mapping elements to their defining sensory qualities.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja is explaining a classificatory teaching about the elements and their qualities. Here he identifies the principal attribute of air as touch and notes its many varieties, continuing a broader exposition on how the world is known through sense-qualities.