Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 3
धर्मलक्षण-प्रश्नः (Marks and Sources of Dharma) | Chapter 251: Inquiry into the Definition of Dharma
अन्तरात्मकमाकाशं तन्मयं श्रोत्रमिन्द्रियम् तस्य शब्दं गुणं विद्यान्मूर्तिशास्त्रविधानवित्
antarātmakam ākāśaṃ tanmayaṃ śrotram indriyam | tasya śabdaṃ guṇaṃ vidyān mūrtiśāstravidhānavit ||
毗耶娑曰：“虚空（ākāśa）为一切容受与遍入之内在自性；听觉之根亦由此虚空所成。故通晓形体之学者，当知‘声’乃虚空之特质。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an elemental correspondence: the sense of hearing arises from ākāśa (space), and sound (śabda) is the defining quality (guṇa) of ākāśa. This supports a disciplined understanding of the body and perception as structured by the mahābhūtas, aiding detachment and self-knowledge.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa explains metaphysical principles about the elements and the senses. Here he identifies ākāśa as the basis of the auditory faculty and establishes sound as its characteristic property, as part of a systematic teaching on embodied existence.