Shloka 286
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
एवं नवविधो ज्ञेय: पार्थिवो गन्धविस्तर: । अनुकूल, प्रतिकूल, मधुर, कट, निहरी अर्थात् दूरसे आनेवाली, तेज गन्धमिश्रित, स्निग्ध, रूक्ष और विशद--ये गन्धके नौ भेद जानने चाहिये। इस प्रकार पार्थिव गन्धका विस्तार बताया गया
evaṁ navavidho jñeyaḥ pārthivo gandha-vistaraḥ | anukūlaḥ pratikūlaḥ madhuraḥ kaṭuḥ nihārī dūrataḥ āgacchantī tīkṣṇa-gandha-miśritaḥ snigdhaḥ rūkṣaḥ viśadaś ca—ete gandhasya nava bhedā jñātavyāḥ | evaṁ pārthiva-gandhasya vistaro vyākhyātaḥ |
Bharadvāja disse: “Assim, a extensão do cheiro terreno deve ser compreendida como novefold: agradável, desagradável, doce, pungente, ‘nihārī’—um aroma que parece vir de longe—misturado a um odor agudo e penetrante, untuoso, seco e claro/puro. Estas são as nove variedades de cheiro que devem ser conhecidas. Desse modo foi explicada a amplitude dos odores do elemento Terra.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies the earth-element’s sensory quality—smell—into nine recognizable types, training discernment (viveka) about sense-data as part of a broader philosophical analysis of the elements and perception.
In a didactic discourse attributed to Bharadvāja within Śānti Parva, the speaker is enumerating and defining categories of sensory qualities; here he concludes the ninefold description of ‘earthly’ odors.