Shloka 26
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
भूमेर्गन्धगुणान् वेत्ति रसं चादभ्य: शरीरवान् । ज्योतिषा चक्षुषा रूपं स्पर्श वेत्ति च वाहिना
bhūmer gandhaguṇān vetti rasaṃ cādbhyaḥ śarīravān | jyotiṣā cakṣuṣā rūpaṃ sparśaṃ vetti ca vāhinā ||
भरद्वाज म्हणाले—देहधारी जीव पृथ्वीच्या साहाय्याने गंधगुण जाणतो; जलामुळे रसाचा आस्वाद घेतो; तेजातून उत्पन्न झालेल्या नेत्रांनी रूप पाहतो; आणि वायूच्या आधाराने त्वचेने स्पर्शाचे ज्ञान करतो. अशा रीतीने भूतांवर आधारलेल्या इंद्रिये आपापले विषय उघड करतात।
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-knowledge operates through an elemental basis: smell is rooted in earth, taste in water, sight in fire/light, and touch in air. The verse highlights how the embodied self experiences the world via element-linked faculties, a common Shanti Parva move toward discriminating body, senses, and deeper self.
Bharadvāja is instructing his listener in a philosophical analysis of perception, enumerating how each sensory cognition corresponds to a particular element. This supports the broader Shanti Parva discourse on understanding embodiment and cultivating discernment.