Shloka 396
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
एष सप्तविध: प्रोक्तो गुण आकाशसम्भव: । आकाशका एकमात्र गुण शब्द ही माना गया है। उस शब्दगुणका अनेक भेदोंमें जो विस्तार हुआ है
bharadvāja uvāca | eṣa saptavidhaḥ prokto guṇa ākāśasambhavaḥ | ākāśasya ekamātraḥ guṇaḥ śabda iti manyate | tasya śabdaguṇasya anekabhedeṣu yo vistāraḥ, taṃ varṇayāmi—ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata tathā niṣāda—ete ākāśajanitasya śabdaguṇasya sapta bhedāḥ proktāḥ, jñātavyāḥ |
婆罗堕阇说道：“此一德性生于虚空（ākāśa），被宣说为七种。虚空被认为唯具一根本属性——声。今我将说明：这一声之属性如何展开为诸多差别：ṣaḍja、ṛṣabha、gāndhāra、madhyama、pañcama、dhaivata 与 niṣāda。此即从虚空而起之声的七分，应当了知。”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a cosmological-psychophysical idea: ākāśa (ether/space) has sound (śabda) as its defining attribute, and that single attribute is analyzed into seven fundamental musical notes (svaras). It frames sensory phenomena as structured manifestations of elemental qualities.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, the sage Bharadvāja is explaining a classification of qualities (guṇas) connected to the elements. Here he focuses on ākāśa and elaborates how its quality, sound, is differentiated into the seven notes used in musical and recitational tradition.