Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 32
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
यन्नैव गन्धिनो रस्यं न रूपस्पर्शशब्दवत् । मन्यन्ते मुनयो बुद्धया तत् प्रधान प्रचक्षते
yan naiva gandhino rasyaṁ na rūpasparśaśabdavat | manyante munayo buddhyā tat pradhānaṁ pracakṣate ||
风神伐由说道：“那既无香、无味，亦不具形色、触感与声音——然而诸牟尼以明辨之智观照思惟者——此即被称为‘普拉达那’（Pradhāna），乃自然之原初根基。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines Pradhāna as the unmanifest primordial principle that is beyond the five sensory qualities (smell, taste, form, touch, sound) and is known not by the senses but by contemplative intellect; it points toward discernment and detachment from sense-based knowing.
Vāyu-deva is instructing by giving a philosophical definition: he contrasts sensory attributes with what sages grasp through buddhi, identifying that subtle, non-sensory basis as Pradhāna.