Shloka 21

Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā

Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties

Devanagari script

चतुर्थमापो विज्ञेयं जिह्दा चाध्यात्ममुच्यते

Transliteration

caturtham āpo vijñeyaṃ jihvā cādhyātmam ucyate

Translation

وایو دیو نے کہا— چوتھا اصول پانی ہے، یہ جان لو؛ اور زبان کو ادھیاتم کے دائرے سے متعلق کہا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• चतुर्थम्: the fourth (as an object to be known)
• चतुर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आपः: waters
• आपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• विज्ञेयम्: to be known / should be understood
• विज्ञेयम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ज्ञा
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• जिह्वा: tongue
• जिह्वा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जिह्वा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अध्यात्मम्: the inner self / pertaining to the self (spiritual)
• अध्यात्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्यात्म
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• उच्यते: is said / is called
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Passive

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu-deva
• Water (Āpaḥ)
• Tongue (Jihvā)
• Adhyātma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links cosmological principles (the elements) with the inner human constitution: Water is identified as the fourth element, and the tongue is classified under adhyātma—an inward, self-related framework—encouraging self-knowledge through mapping the outer world to inner faculties.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva is instructing an interlocutor in a doctrinal exposition, enumerating categories: he specifies the fourth element as Water and simultaneously assigns the tongue to the adhyātma (inner) domain as part of a systematic teaching on elements and faculties.