Shloka 38
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
तत्रैकगुणमाकाशं शब्द इत्येव तत्स्मृतम् । तस्य शब्दस्य वक्ष्यामि विस्तरं विविधात्मकम्
tatraikaguṇam ākāśaṃ śabda ity eva tat smṛtam | tasya śabdasya vakṣyāmi vistaraṃ vividhātmakam | eṣa saptavidhaḥ prokto guṇa ākāśasambhavaḥ |
ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕಾಶಕ್ಕೆ ಏಕಮಾತ್ರ ಗುಣ ‘ಶಬ್ದ’ವೆಂದು ಸ್ಮೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಈಗ ಆ ಶಬ್ದಗುಣವು ವಿವಿಧ ರೂಪಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಿರುವುದನ್ನು ನಾನು ವಿವರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಆಕಾಶಸಂಭವವಾದ ಈ ಗುಣವು ಸಪ್ತವಿಧವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದೆ—ಷಡ್ಜ, ಋಷಭ, ಗಾಂಧಾರ, ಮಧ್ಯಮ, ಪಂಚಮ, ಧೈವತ, ನಿಷಾದ.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Space (ākāśa) is characterized by a single fundamental attribute—sound (śabda). That one attribute is then analyzed as having a structured, sevenfold manifestation, commonly understood as the seven musical notes (saptasvara).
Bharadvāja is teaching a philosophical account of the elements and their qualities. In this verse he identifies the defining quality of ākāśa as sound and announces a detailed explanation of sound’s differentiated forms, presented as seven kinds.