Shloka 13
शूरलक्षणवर्णनम् | Marks and Typologies of Martial Temperament
गम्भीराक्षा नि:सृताक्षा: पिड्ाक्षा भ्रुकुटीमुखा: । नकुलाक्षास्तथा चैव सर्वे शूरास्तनुत्यज:
gambhīrākṣā niḥsṛtākṣāḥ piṅgākṣā bhrukuṭīmukhāḥ | nakulākṣās tathā caiva sarve śūrās tanutyajaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: Men whose eyes are deep-set, or appear prominent because of their largeness; whose eyes are tawny; whose faces are marked by knitted brows; and likewise those whose eyes are brown like a mongoose—people bearing such signs are all valiant by nature and are the kind who lay down their bodies on the battlefield.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma presents a traditional physiognomic observation: certain bodily features—especially types of eyes and a tense, knitted-brow expression—are taken as indicators of innate courage and a disposition to die fighting. The ethical frame is the kṣatriya ideal of fearlessness and readiness to sacrifice one’s life in righteous battle.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and related disciplines. Here he is describing characteristic marks (lakṣaṇas) by which one may recognize men inclined toward heroism and battlefield self-sacrifice.