Shloka 353
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
वायव्यस्तु गुण: स्पर्श: स्पर्शश्व॒ बहुधा स्मृतः । वायुके दो गुण जानने चाहिये--शब्द और स्पर्श। वायुका प्रमुख गुण स्पर्श ही है, जिसके अनेक भेद माने गये हैं--
vāyavyas tu guṇaḥ sparśaḥ | sparśaś ca bahudhā smṛtaḥ ||
ഭരദ്വാജൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“വായു-തത്ത്വത്തിന്റെ ഗുണം സ്പർശം; ആ ‘സ്പർശം’ എന്നും പലവിധമായി സ്മരിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Air (Vāyu) is chiefly characterized by the quality of touch (sparśa), and tactile experience is described as having multiple forms. The verse supports a systematic discernment of reality by mapping elements to their defining sensory qualities.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja is explaining a classificatory teaching about the elements and their qualities. Here he identifies the principal attribute of air as touch and notes its many varieties, continuing a broader exposition on how the world is known through sense-qualities.