Shloka 4
Varāha-avatāra: Viṣṇu’s subterranean intervention and the cosmic nāda (Śānti-parva 202)
स्पर्श तनुर्वेद रसं च जिह्ना घ्राणं च गन्धान् श्रवणौ च शब्दान् | रूपाणि चक्षुर्न च तत्परं यद् गृह्नन्त्यनध्यात्मविदो मनुष्या:,त्वचा स्पर्शका, जिह्ला रसका, प्राणेन्द्रिय गन्धका, कान शब्दका और नेत्र रूपका ही अनुभव करते हैं। ये इन्द्रियाँ परमात्माको प्रत्यक्ष नहीं कर सकतीं। अध्यात्मज्ञानसे हीन मनुष्य परमात्मतत्त्वका अनुभव नहीं कर सकते
sparśaṃ tanur veda rasaṃ ca jihvā ghrāṇaṃ ca gandhān śravaṇau ca śabdān | rūpāṇi cakṣur na ca tat-paraṃ yad gṛhṇanty anadhyātma-vido manuṣyāḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“皮肤觉触，舌觉味，鼻觉香，耳觉声，眼觉色相。然而诸根并不能把握那超越一切的至上实相。故缺乏内在灵性智慧之人，不能亲证我（我性）与至上者的真实。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The five senses can only apprehend their respective objects—touch, taste, smell, sound, and form—so the Supreme Self/Reality is not an object of sensory perception; it is realized through adhyātma-jñāna (inner spiritual knowledge).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma is teaching about the limits of sensory knowledge and emphasizing that true realization of the highest principle requires inner wisdom rather than mere sense-experience.