Shloka 38
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
तत्रैकगुणमाकाशं शब्द इत्येव तत्स्मृतम् । तस्य शब्दस्य वक्ष्यामि विस्तरं विविधात्मकम्
tatraikaguṇam ākāśaṃ śabda ity eva tat smṛtam | tasya śabdasya vakṣyāmi vistaraṃ vividhātmakam | eṣa saptavidhaḥ prokto guṇa ākāśasambhavaḥ |
“Sa bagay na ito, ang kalawakan (ākāśa) ay inaalaalang may iisang katangian—ang tunog. Ngayon ay ilalarawan ko nang masinsinan ang sari-saring paglawak ng tunog na iyon. Ang katangiang ito, na isinilang mula sa kalawakan, ay sinasabing may pitong anyo.” (Nauunawaan ito bilang pitong nota: ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata, niṣāda.)
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Space (ākāśa) is characterized by a single fundamental attribute—sound (śabda). That one attribute is then analyzed as having a structured, sevenfold manifestation, commonly understood as the seven musical notes (saptasvara).
Bharadvāja is teaching a philosophical account of the elements and their qualities. In this verse he identifies the defining quality of ākāśa as sound and announces a detailed explanation of sound’s differentiated forms, presented as seven kinds.