Shloka 33
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
प्रतिलोमो5नुलोमश्न भवत्यथ शतक्रतुः । शुकवायसरूपी च हंसकोकिलरूपवान्,वे इन्द्र कभी अनुलोम संकरका रूप धारण करते हैं तो कभी विलोम संकरका। वे तोते, कौए, हंस और कोयलके रूपमें भी दिखायी देते हैं
pratilomo 'nulomaś ca bhavaty atha śatakratuḥ | śukavāyasarūpī ca haṃsakokilarūpavān ||
শতক্ৰতু ইন্দ্ৰ কেতিয়াবা প্ৰতিলোম আৰু কেতিয়াবা অনুলোম সংকৰৰূপ ধাৰণ কৰে। তেওঁ শুক (টিয়া) আৰু বায়স (কাক) ৰূপতো, আৰু হংস আৰু কোকিল ৰূপতো দেখা যায়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that even a great deity like Indra can appear in many guises and categories; therefore ethical judgment should not rest only on external form, labels, or birth-based classifications, but on deeper discernment of conduct and intent within dharma.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, cites Indra (Śatakratu) as an example of a being who assumes varied forms—linked here to anuloma/pratiloma categories and to bird-forms (parrot, crow, swan, cuckoo)—to illustrate the diversity and ambiguity of appearances in the world.