Shloka 396
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
एष सप्तविध: प्रोक्तो गुण आकाशसम्भव: । आकाशका एकमात्र गुण शब्द ही माना गया है। उस शब्दगुणका अनेक भेदोंमें जो विस्तार हुआ है
bharadvāja uvāca | eṣa saptavidhaḥ prokto guṇa ākāśasambhavaḥ | ākāśasya ekamātraḥ guṇaḥ śabda iti manyate | tasya śabdaguṇasya anekabhedeṣu yo vistāraḥ, taṃ varṇayāmi—ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata tathā niṣāda—ete ākāśajanitasya śabdaguṇasya sapta bhedāḥ proktāḥ, jñātavyāḥ |
Bharadvāja dit : «Cette qualité, née de l’espace (ākāśa), est déclarée septuple. On tient que l’espace ne possède qu’un attribut premier : le son. Je décrirai comment cet attribut unique, le son, se déploie en de multiples distinctions : ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata et niṣāda. Telles sont les sept divisions du son issues de l’espace, et il convient de les comprendre.»
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a cosmological-psychophysical idea: ākāśa (ether/space) has sound (śabda) as its defining attribute, and that single attribute is analyzed into seven fundamental musical notes (svaras). It frames sensory phenomena as structured manifestations of elemental qualities.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, the sage Bharadvāja is explaining a classification of qualities (guṇas) connected to the elements. Here he focuses on ākāśa and elaborates how its quality, sound, is differentiated into the seven notes used in musical and recitational tradition.