Shloka 34
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
शुक्ल: कृष्णस्तथा रक्त: पीतो नीलारुणस्तथा । कठिनश्विक्कण: श्लक्ष्ण: पिच्छिलो मृदुदारुण:
śuklaḥ kṛṣṇas tathā raktaḥ pīto nīlāruṇas tathā | kaṭhinaś cikkaṇaḥ ślakṣṇaḥ picchilo mṛdu-dāruṇaḥ ||
তারা শ্বেত, কৃষ্ণ ও রক্ত; পীত, নীল এবং অরুণও। আবার তারা কঠিন, মসৃণ, সূক্ষ্ম-স্পর্শ, পিচ্ছিল, কোমল ও কর্কশও।
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse catalogs opposed sensory qualities (colors and textures) to highlight the diversity and changeability of material nature; ethical insight lies in recognizing these as properties of prakṛti/embodiment rather than grounds for attachment, aversion, or identity.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bharadvāja is speaking and enumerates various observable qualities—hues and tactile properties—as part of a broader explanation about the characteristics of embodied existence and how a wise person should understand them.