Shloka 113
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
ये जो बीस और सात गुण बताये गये हैं
viṁśatir daśa caiva hi guṇāḥ saṅkhyānataḥ smṛtāḥ | samagrā yatra vartate taccharīram iti smṛtam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ainsi, par dénombrement, on s’en souvient comme de vingt et dix — trente qualités en tout. Ce en quoi elles se trouvent toutes réunies, c’est ce que la tradition appelle le “corps”.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma defines the ‘body’ as an aggregate characterized by a complete set of enumerated qualities (guṇas). The emphasis is classificatory: what counts as ‘śarīra’ is that locus where the full set of these constituents is present together.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Bhīṣma continues a philosophical exposition using numerical enumeration. He concludes a list by stating that, taken together, they total thirty qualities, and he identifies their complete presence as the criterion for calling something a ‘body’.