Shloka 7
Jvarotpatti — The Origin and Distribution of Jvara
Fever
नारद! पाँच भूत और छठा काल--इन छ: तत्त्वोंको तुम प्रवाहरूपसे शाश्वत, अविचल और ध्रुव समझो। ये तेजोमय महत्तत्त्वकी स्वाभाविक कलाएँ हैं ।।
Nārada! pañca bhūtāni ṣaṣṭhaś ca kālaḥ—ime ṣaṭ tattvāni tvaṁ pravāharūpeṇa śāśvatāni, avicalāni, dhruvāṇi ca manyasva. etāni tejomayasya mahattattvasya svābhāvikāḥ kalāḥ. āpaś caivāntarikṣaṁ ca pṛthivī vāyupāvakau | nāsīd dhi param tebhyo bhūtebhyo mukta-saṁśayaḥ ||
阿悉多说道：“那罗陀啊，当知五大与第六之时（时间）——此六种原理——如永恒不绝之流，安定、不动、坚固。它们乃光明之大原理（摩诃特，mahat）的自然分支。实则除水、空、地、风、火诸大之外，更无他物；汝当断疑。”
असित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a cosmological framework: the five elements plus Time constitute a stable, eternal continuum and are natural manifestations of the luminous ‘mahat’ (Great Principle). It urges clarity and freedom from doubt about what is fundamental in the manifested order.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, Asita instructs Nārada on first principles—identifying the elemental constituents of the world and Time as the sixth principle, grounding the discussion in a Sāṅkhya-like metaphysical account.