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:
śabdaḥ sparśas tathā rūpaṃ raso gandhaś ca pañcamaḥ | kriyāḥ karaṇa-nityāḥ syur anityā moha-saṃjñitāḥ ||
Vāyu-deva déclara : «Le son, le toucher, la forme, la saveur et, en cinquième, l’odeur —avec les opérations sensorielles par lesquelles ils sont saisis— sont constants en tant qu’ils relèvent du plan causal (subtil). C’est pourquoi, même au temps de la dissolution, ils ne s’évanouissent pas comme les choses grossières. Ce qui est impermanent et grossier est nommé “illusion”, car cela égare l’esprit en lui faisant prendre le transitoire pour le réel.»
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.