Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 44
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
रसज्ञानं तु वक्ष्यामि रसस्तु बहुधा स्मृतः । शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस--ये जलके चार गुण माने गये हैं (इनमें रस ही जलका मुख्य गुण है)। अब मैं रस-विज्ञानका वर्णन करता हूँ। रसके बहुत-से भेद बताये गये हैं ।।
madhuro 'mlaḥ kaṭus tiktaḥ kaṣāyo lavaṇas tathā
Nagpatuloy si Vāyu-deva: “Ngayon ay ipaliliwanag ko ang agham ng lasa (rasa). Ang lasa ay itinuturing na maraming uri. Ang mga pangunahing lasa ay: matamis, maasim, maanghang, mapait, mapakla (astringent), at maalat.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
That taste (rasa) can be classified into six primary types, and that sensory experience is not random but knowable and categorizable—supporting disciplined understanding of the body and perception.
Vāyu-deva is in the midst of an instructional discourse, moving from general remarks about rasa to a concrete list of its main varieties.