Shloka 16

Devanagari script

शब्दरागाच्छोत्रमस्य जायते भावितात्मन: । रूपरागात्‌ तथा चक्षुप्राणं गन्धचिकीर्षया,शब्दके प्रति राग होनेसे उस भावितात्मा पुरुषकी श्रवणेन्द्रिय प्रकट होती है। रूपके प्रति राग होनेसे नेत्र और गन्ध ग्रहण करनेकी इच्छा होनेसे नासिकाका प्राकट्य होता है

Transliteration

śabdarāgāc chotram asya jāyate bhāvitātmanaḥ | rūparāgāt tathā cakṣuḥ prāṇaṃ gandha-cikīrṣayā ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: Pada seseorang yang batinnya telah dibentuk oleh kesan-kesan lampau, keterikatan pada bunyi melahirkan daya pendengaran. Keterikatan pada rupa demikian juga melahirkan daya penglihatan; dan dorongan untuk menangkap bau melahirkan organ penciuman. Maka, indera-indera menampakkan diri menurut kecenderungan dan keinginan minda.

Word by Word

शब्दरागात्from attachment to sound

श्रोत्रम्the ear (organ of hearing)

अस्यof him/its

जायतेarises/is produced

भावितात्मनःof the self-disciplined/meditative-souled (person)

रूपरागात्from attachment to form

तथाlikewise/so

चक्षुःthe eye (organ of sight)

प्राणम्the breath/life-wind

गन्धचिकीर्षयाby the desire to smell (to apprehend odor)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the senses are not merely physical givens; they manifest and operate in line with the mind’s attachments—craving for sound, form, and fragrance conditions the arising and strengthening of hearing, sight, and smell. Ethically, it points to desire (rāga) as a root that shapes perception and bondage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma is explaining to the listener a causal account of how sensory faculties arise in embodied beings, linking each sense to a corresponding attachment or desire, as part of a broader teaching on mind, conduct, and liberation-oriented understanding.