Shloka 19
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
जड़मानां च सर्वेषां शरीरे पजडच धातव: । प्रत्येकश: प्रभिद्यन्ते यैः शरीरं विचेष्टते
jaḍamānāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ śarīre pañca dhātavaḥ | pratyekaśaḥ prabhidyante yaiḥ śarīraṃ viceṣṭate ||
Bharadvāja dit : «Dans les corps de tous les êtres—qu’ils soient inertes ou vivants—les cinq grands éléments (pañca-mahābhūta) sont présents. Mais leur mode de manifestation diffère selon chacun. C’est par l’action conjointe de ces cinq que le corps devient capable d’activité et de mouvement.»
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
All bodies are constituted by the same five elemental factors, but their proportions and expressions vary; bodily activity arises from the coordinated functioning of these elements, highlighting the material basis of physical motion distinct from the deeper question of consciousness.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja explains a philosophical account of embodiment: even inert and living forms share elemental constituents, yet living bodies display a distinctive organization that enables movement and action.