Shloka 5
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
आकाशात् तु विकुर्वाणात् सर्वगन्धवह: शुचि: । बलवान जायते वायुस्तस्य स्पर्शो गुणो मत:
ākāśāt tu vikurvāṇāt sarvagandhavahaḥ śuciḥ | balavān jāyate vāyus tasya sparśo guṇo mataḥ ||
आकाशात् तु विकुर्वाणात् शुचिर्बलवान् सर्वगन्धवहः वायुः जायते। तस्य गुणः स्पर्श इति मतः।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a step in the ordered evolution of the elements: from the transformation of ākāśa arises vāyu, whose defining attribute is sparśa (touch). Each element is known by its specific guṇa, aiding philosophical discernment.
Vyāsa is presenting a doctrinal explanation within Śānti Parva’s instruction: a cosmological account of how elemental principles manifest sequentially and how their characteristic qualities are identified.