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 |
या संदर्भात आकाशाचा एकच गुण ‘शब्द’ असा मानला आहे. आता त्या शब्दगुणाचा विविध रूपांनी झालेला विस्तार मी सांगतो. आकाशातून उत्पन्न झालेला हा गुण सात प्रकारचा म्हटला आहे—षड्ज, ऋषभ, गान्धार, मध्यम, पंचम, धैवत आणि निषाद.
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.