Shloka 31
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
बृहत् शरीरश्न पुनश्वलीरवासा: पुन: कृश: । गौरं श्यामं च कृष्णं च वर्ण विकुरुते पुन:
bṛhat śarīraś ca punaś cīrāvāsaḥ punaḥ kṛśaḥ | gauraṃ śyāmaṃ ca kṛṣṇaṃ ca varṇaṃ vikurute punaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “At times he assumes a large, robust body; at other times he appears emaciated, wrapped in rags. Again and again he alters his complexion—now fair, now dark, now black—thus taking on changing forms.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the instability of outward form—body, clothing, and complexion can change repeatedly—encouraging discernment that ethical worth and dharma are not to be judged by external appearance.
Bhīṣma describes a figure whose appearance keeps shifting: sometimes strong and well-built, sometimes frail and rag-clad, and whose complexion alternates between fair, dark, and black—emphasizing a recurring transformation.