Shloka 131
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
घ्रेयं प्राणं शरीरं च भूमेरेते गुणास्त्रय: । एतावानिन्द्रियग्रामैव्याख्यात: पाज्चभौतिक:
ghreyaṁ prāṇaṁ śarīraṁ ca bhūmer ete guṇās trayaḥ | etāvān indriyagrāmair vyākhyātaḥ pañcabhāutikaḥ ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Aroma, napas hayat (prāṇa), dan tubuh—tiga inilah sifat yang dikaitkan dengan unsur bumi. Dengan demikian, melalui pengelompokan indra, dijelaskanlah susunan diri sebagai ‘terbentuk dari lima unsur’ (pañcabhūtika).”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links specific experiential features—smell, vital breath, and bodily form—to the earth element, and uses the framework of the senses to clarify how the embodied person is understood as constituted by the five elements.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa continues an analytical explanation of the body and experience in terms of elemental composition and sense-functions, presenting a classificatory teaching rather than a dramatic event.