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 dit : «Pour l’élément Air (Vāyu), la qualité déterminante est le toucher. Et ce “toucher” est tenu pour multiple». Dans cet enseignement sur les constituants du monde et les sens, il s’agit de discerner comment chaque élément est connu par sa propriété propre, afin de cultiver clarté et détachement, plutôt que la confusion face à l’expérience sensible.
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.