Shloka 86

धर्मलक्षण-प्रश्नः (Marks and Sources of Dharma) | Chapter 251: Inquiry into the Definition of Dharma

Devanagari script

गन्धश्षेवेन्द्रियार्थोडयं विज्ञेयः पृथिवीमय: । इसी प्रकार दाढ़ी-मूँछ

Transliteration

gandhaś śrotrendriyārtho 'yaṃ vijñeyaḥ pṛthivīmayaḥ | tathā śmaśru-loma-keśa-nāḍī-snāyu-carmaṇāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ pṛthivīto 'tpattiḥ | nāsikā-nāmnā prasiddhaṃ prāṇendriyaṃ tad api pṛthivy-aṃśaḥ | gandha-nāmakaṃ viṣayaṃ ca pārthiva-guṇam eva vijānīyāt ||

Translation

Vyāsa giải thích rằng: mùi—đối tượng được căn nhận biết—phải được hiểu là thuộc về đại địa. Cũng vậy, râu và ria mép, lông trên thân, tóc trên đầu, các mạch (nāḍī), gân và da đều phát sinh từ đất. Căn sinh khí được gọi là mũi cũng là một phần của đất. Vì thế, đối tượng mang tên “mùi” phải được nhận biết là một phẩm tính của địa đại.

Word by Word

• गन्धः: smell
• गन्धः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्रोत्रेन्द्रियार्थः: the object of the ear-sense (sound)
• श्रोत्रेन्द्रियार्थः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रोत्रेन्द्रियार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उदयं: arising/origin
• उदयं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदय
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• विज्ञेयः: is to be known/should be understood
• विज्ञेयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ज्ञा (क्तव्य/यत्-प्रत्ययः: ज्ञेय)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पृथिवीमयः: made of earth/earth-constituted
• पृथिवीमयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पृथिवीमय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• pṛthivī (earth-element)
• nāsikā (nose)
• gandha (smell)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Smell (gandha) and the nasal faculty are classified as belonging to the earth-element; many bodily structures (hair, skin, sinews, channels) are likewise said to arise from earth. The passage trains the reader to analyze experience and the body in terms of elemental constituents, supporting detachment and discriminative knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vyāsa continues an analytical exposition of the body, senses, and elements. He identifies smell as an earthy quality and links related bodily features and the nose to the earth-element as part of a broader metaphysical teaching.