Shloka 86
धर्मलक्षण-प्रश्नः (Marks and Sources of Dharma) | Chapter 251: Inquiry into the Definition of Dharma
गन्धश्षेवेन्द्रियार्थोडयं विज्ञेयः पृथिवीमय: । इसी प्रकार दाढ़ी-मूँछ
gandhaś śrotrendriyārtho 'yaṃ vijñeyaḥ pṛthivīmayaḥ | tathā śmaśru-loma-keśa-nāḍī-snāyu-carmaṇāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ pṛthivīto 'tpattiḥ | nāsikā-nāmnā prasiddhaṃ prāṇendriyaṃ tad api pṛthivy-aṃśaḥ | gandha-nāmakaṃ viṣayaṃ ca pārthiva-guṇam eva vijānīyāt ||
毗耶娑阐明：香（气味）——为感官所取之境——应知属于地大。又如胡须与髭髯、身毛、头发、诸脉道（nāḍī）、筋腱与皮肤，皆由地而生。名为鼻的生命之根亦为地之一分。故所谓“香”，当认作地之德相。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Smell (gandha) and the nasal faculty are classified as belonging to the earth-element; many bodily structures (hair, skin, sinews, channels) are likewise said to arise from earth. The passage trains the reader to analyze experience and the body in terms of elemental constituents, supporting detachment and discriminative knowledge.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vyāsa continues an analytical exposition of the body, senses, and elements. He identifies smell as an earthy quality and links related bodily features and the nose to the earth-element as part of a broader metaphysical teaching.