Shloka 231
Śukasya Janma-yoga-phalaṁ — Vyāsasya Tapasā Putrārthaḥ (Śānti-parva 310)
श्रोत्रं त्वक् चैव चक्षुश्न जिद्दा प्राणं च पजचमम् । सर्ग तु षष्ठमित्याहुर्बहुचिन्तात्मक॑ स्मृतम्
śrotraṃ tvak caiva cakṣuś ca jihvā prāṇaṃ ca pañcamam | sargaṃ tu ṣaṣṭham ity āhur bahucintātmakam smṛtam ||
Yājñavalkya dit : « L’ouïe, le toucher, la vue, le goût (la langue) et le souffle vital sont dits les cinq. Quant à “sarga” — la création, l’impulsion créatrice — on le déclare sixième. Cet ensemble de facultés est retenu comme un principe aux “pensées multiples”, sans cesse agité de délibérations. »
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies the human faculties: five primary sense/life functions (hearing, touch, sight, taste, and prāṇa) and adds a sixth called sarga—an inner projecting/creative impulse—highlighting how this complex becomes ‘many-thoughted’ and thus a source of mental restlessness that must be understood for self-mastery.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Yājñavalkya is explaining a philosophical analysis of the embodied being, enumerating faculties to guide the listener toward discernment (viveka) and ethical self-control.