Shloka 33
Brahmopadeśa: Adhipatitva-kathana, Dharma-lakṣaṇa, and Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña Viveka
Book 14, Chapter 43
आकाश स्य गुणो होष श्रोत्रेण च स गृहाते । श्रोत्रस्थाश्व दिश: सर्वा: शब्दज्ञाने प्रकीर्तिता:,आकाशके गुण शब्दका कानोंके द्वारा ग्रहण होता है और कानमें स्थित सम्पूर्ण दिशाएँ शब्दके श्रवणमें सहायक बतायी गयी हैं
ākāśasya guṇo ghoṣaḥ śrotreṇa ca sa gṛhyate | śrotrasthāś ca diśaḥ sarvāḥ śabdajñāne prakīrtitāḥ ||
Vāyu-deva bersabda: “Sifat khas ruang (ākāśa) ialah bunyi, dan ia ditanggapi melalui telinga. Segala arah, yang bersemayam dalam organ pendengaran, dikatakan membantu pengenalan bunyi.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a classical tattva-doctrine: each subtle element has a defining quality, and for ākāśa (space/ether) that defining quality is śabda (sound). Sound is known through the śrotra (ear), and the ‘directions’ are poetically/physiologically linked with hearing as supportive conditions for auditory cognition.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a philosophical explanation of perception and the elements, describing how sound belongs to ākāśa and how the ear functions as the instrument by which that quality is apprehended.