Shloka 32
Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra
Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability
श्रीत्रं व्योमाश्रितं भूतं शब्द: श्रोत्रं समाश्रित: । नोभयं शब्दविज्ञाने विज्ञानस्येतरस्य वा
śrotraṁ vyomāśritaṁ bhūtaṁ śabdaḥ śrotraṁ samāśritaḥ | nobhayaṁ śabdavijñāne vijñānasyetarasya vā ||
毗湿摩说：听根（śrotra）依于虚空（ākāśa），而声依于耳。故在了知声音之时，虚空与耳这二者并不成为“所知”或“所不知”的对象；它们只是支撑的条件，而非被执取之境。此教旨在令行者辨明：一边是器官与其所依之基，另一边是所觉之境，免得将经验之所依误作经验之内容。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In perceiving sound, the ear and space are not themselves the objects known; they are the supporting conditions. This encourages discrimination between (1) the object perceived (sound) and (2) the instruments/grounds that enable perception (ear and space), a step toward non-confusion and detachment in self-knowledge.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues a philosophical analysis of perception and the elements. He explains the dependence-chain—sound depends on the ear, and the ear depends on space—to clarify how experience arises without making its supports into the direct content of cognition.