Shloka 51
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
अग्नी रूपं पय: स्रोतो वायु: स्पर्शनमेव च । मही पड़कधरं घोरमाकाशश्रवर्णं तथा
agnī rūpaṃ payaḥ sroto vāyuḥ sparśanam eva ca | mahī paḍakadharaṃ ghoram ākāśaśravaṇaṃ tathā ||
Vāyu-deva dit : « Le feu est le principe de la forme ; l’eau est le courant qui s’écoule ; le vent est le toucher lui-même. La terre porte le lourd fardeau et peut être redoutable ; et l’espace est, de même, le fondement de l’ouïe. »
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps the classical elements to their characteristic functions and corresponding sense-domains: fire with visible form, water with flowing continuity, wind with touch, earth with weight-bearing solidity, and space with sound/hearing—presenting an ethical-metaphysical framework for understanding embodied experience as grounded in elemental order.
Vāyu-deva is speaking and instructing the listener by enumerating the defining qualities of the elements, using them as a doctrinal explanation within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s broader didactic discourse.