Shloka 9
धर्मलक्षण-प्रश्नः (Marks and Sources of Dharma) | Chapter 251: Inquiry into the Definition of Dharma
उत्तरेषु गुणा: सन्ति सर्वसत्त्वेषु चोत्तरा:
uttareṣu guṇāḥ santi sarvasattveṣu cottarāḥ
Vyāsa berkata: Dalam bentuk yang kemudian (lebih berkembang), terdapat sifat-sifat bentuk yang terdahulu; maka pada semua makhluk, yang menyusul mengandungi atribut yang mendahului. Dengan demikian unsur-unsur dan kehidupan berjasad memperlihatkan pertambahan bertingkat pada sifat: ruang mempunyai bunyi sahaja; angin mempunyai bunyi dan sentuhan; api mempunyai bunyi, sentuhan dan rupa; air mempunyai bunyi, sentuhan, rupa dan rasa; bumi mempunyai bunyi, sentuhan, rupa, rasa dan bau.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a principle of gradation: later or more complex entities retain the qualities of earlier ones while adding new qualities. Applied to the five great elements, each successive element includes the sensory properties of the previous and gains an additional one, culminating in earth possessing all five (sound, touch, form, taste, smell).
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vyāsa explains a philosophical framework for understanding the constitution of the world and embodied experience. He illustrates how the elements and beings are ordered by increasing attributes, supporting a reflective, dharma-oriented inquiry into nature and the self.