Shloka 8
Jvarotpatti — The Origin and Distribution of Jvara
Fever
जल, आकाश, पृथ्वी, वायु और अग्नि--इन भूतोंसे भिन्न कोई तत्त्व कभी नहीं था; इसमें संशय नहीं है ।।
Asita uvāca — jalaṃ ākāśaṃ pṛthvī vāyuś cāgniś ca—ebhyo bhūtebhyo bhinnaṃ kiñcid api tattvaṃ kadācana nāsīt; atra saṃśayo nāsti. nopapattyā na vā yuktyā tv asad brūyād asaṃśayam. vetthaitān abhinirvattān ṣaḍ ete yasya rāśayaḥ.
阿悉多说道：“水、空、地、风、火——离此诸大，从未有别的原理存在；此中无疑。无论凭何正当证成，亦无论凭何严密推理，都不能建立超出此六者之外的真实。因此，凡宣说他法者，必是妄言。汝知此六原理如何随一切果相而显现，亦知诸果所归属之因源。”
असित उवाच
Educational Q&A
Asita asserts that reality is grounded in a fixed set of fundamental constituents (the elements and a sixth principle/aggregate), and that no additional ‘tattva’ can be established by valid proof or reasoning; claims beyond these are therefore false.
In the Shanti Parva’s philosophical instruction, the sage Asita addresses his listener and argues for a disciplined, reason-and-proof-based account of the world’s constituents, rejecting speculative doctrines that posit extra principles without epistemic support.