Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
एष षड्विधविस्तारो रसो वारिमय: स्मृत: । शब्द: स्पर्शश्ष॒ रूप॑ं च त्रिगुणं ज्योतिरुच्यते
bharadvāja uvāca | eṣa ṣaḍvidha-vistāro raso vārimayaḥ smṛtaḥ | śabdaḥ sparśaś ca rūpaṃ ca triguṇaṃ jyotir ucyate ||
यह रस छः प्रकार के विस्तार वाला और जलमय माना गया है। शब्द, स्पर्श और रूप—ये तीनों गुण ज्योति (तेज) के कहे गए हैं, जो त्रिगुणात्मक है।
भरद्वाज उवाच
The verse maps sense-objects to elemental principles: taste is characterized as watery and diversified, while sound, touch, and form are associated with the luminous principle (jyotis/tejas) described as operating through the three guṇas. It reflects a cosmological-psychological analysis used for discernment and detachment.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja is explaining a philosophical account of how sensory qualities and elements relate, using traditional categories (rasa, śabda, sparśa, rūpa; water and light; the three guṇas) to instruct about the constitution of experience and the world.