Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
ज्योतिषो5पि विकुर्वाणाद् भवन्त्यापो रसात्मिका: । अदृभ्यो गन्धवहा भूमि: सर्वेषां सृष्टिरुच्यते
jyotiṣo 'pi vikurvāṇād bhavanty āpo rasātmikāḥ | adṛbhyo gandha-vahā bhūmiḥ sarveṣāṃ sṛṣṭir ucyate ||
अग्नि-तत्त्व में विकार आने पर रसमय जल-तत्त्व उत्पन्न होता है। जल से गन्ध को वहन करने वाली पृथ्वी प्रकट होती है। इस प्रकार (तत्त्वों की) सृष्टि कही गई है।
व्यास उवाच
The verse teaches a sequential cosmology of the gross elements: from the transformation of tejas (fire/light) arises water characterized by taste, and from water arises earth characterized by smell—illustrating how each element is associated with a distinctive sensory quality.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vyāsa explains the doctrine of creation by describing how the elements emerge in order through transformation, linking each new element to its defining property (taste for water, smell for earth).