Shloka 12
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
प्राण: स्पर्शश्व॒ चेष्टा च वायोरेते गुणा: स्मृता: । इति सर्वगुणा राजन् व्याख्याता: पाड्चभौतिका:
prāṇaḥ sparśaś ca ceṣṭā ca vāyor ete guṇāḥ smṛtāḥ | iti sarvaguṇā rājan vyākhyātāḥ pāñcabhautikāḥ ||
प्राण, स्पर्श और चेष्टा—ये तीन वायु के गुण कहे गए हैं। राजन्! इस प्रकार मैंने पञ्चमहाभूतों से सम्बन्धित समस्त गुणों का वर्णन कर दिया।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the defining qualities of the wind-element—vital breath (prāṇa), touch (sparśa), and motion (ceṣṭā)—and concludes a systematic exposition of the qualities of the five great elements (pañcabhūta).
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira in philosophical analysis of nature and the elements; here he specifies Vāyu’s attributes and states that the full elemental account has been completed.