Shloka 35

Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)

Devanagari script

शब्दस्पर्शीं च विज्ञेयौ द्विगुणो वायुरित्युत

Transliteration

śabdasparśīṁ ca vijñeyau dviguṇo vāyur ity uta

Translation

Bharadvāja berkata: “Bunyi dan sentuhan hendaklah difahami sebagai sifat-sifatnya; sesungguhnya unsur Angin (vāyu) dikatakan mempunyai dua sifat.”

Word by Word

• शब्दस्पर्शी: having (the qualities of) sound and touch
• शब्दस्पर्शी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्दस्पर्शिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विज्ञेयौ: to be known / should be understood
• विज्ञेयौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ज्ञा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• द्विगुणः: twofold / having two qualities
• द्विगुणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विगुण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वायुः: wind; air (element)
• वायुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• उत: also / moreover
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Vāyu (the wind/air element)
• Śabda (sound)
• Sparśa (touch)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse states a principle of elemental analysis: the air element (vāyu) is characterized by two sensory qualities—sound (śabda) and touch (sparśa). This supports a broader ethical-spiritual aim in Śānti Parva: cultivating discriminative knowledge (viveka) about the constituents of experience to loosen attachment and clarify the path of dharma through self-knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Bharadvāja is presenting a doctrinal explanation of the elements and their properties. This line specifically identifies the defining qualities attributed to vāyu, as part of a systematic teaching on how the world and the senses are constituted.