Shloka 7
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
आकाशात् खलु यो घोष: संघातस्तु महीगुण: । वायो:प्राणो रसस्त्वद्भ्यो रूपं तेजस उच्यते
ākāśāt khalu yo ghoṣaḥ saṅghātas tu mahī-guṇaḥ | vāyoḥ prāṇo rasas tv adbhyō rūpaṃ tejas ucyate ||
ビーシュマは有身の生命が五大の徳によって成ることを説く。身にある音は空（アーカーシャ）の性質であり、身体の固い凝集は地の性質（そのはたらき）である。呼吸という命の風は風に属し、味と滋養の液は水に属し、形相・可視性は火に属すると言われる。この教えは、身体を元素的性質の複合として捉え、朽ちゆく肉体への同一化ではなく、識別と離欲へと人を導く。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The body and its functions are explained as a composite of elemental qualities: sound belongs to space, solidity to earth, breath to air, taste to water, and form/visibility to fire. Recognizing this supports discrimination between the Self and the body, fostering detachment and steadiness in dharma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberating knowledge. Here he shifts to an analytical account of the body’s constitution through the elements, a contemplative teaching meant to calm grief and orient the listener toward inner understanding.