Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यथा बहणि चित्राणि बिभर्ति भुजगाशन: । तथा बहुविध॑ राजा रूप॑ कुर्वीत धर्मवित्‌,जैसे साँप खानेवाला मोर विचित्र पंख धारण करता है, उसी प्रकार धर्मज्ञ राजाको समय-समयपर अपना अनेक प्रकारका रूप प्रकट करना चाहिये

Transliteration

yathā bahūni citrāṇi bibharti bhujagāśanaḥ | tathā bahuvidhaṃ rājā rūpaṃ kurvīta dharmavit ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Just as the peacock—devourer of serpents—bears many variegated hues, so too should a king who knows dharma reveal many different ‘forms’ in due season.”

Word by Word

यथाjust as

बहूनिmany

चित्राणिvariegated, diverse

बिभर्तिbears, carries, wears

भुजगाशनःthe snake-eater (peacock)

तथाso, in the same way

बहुविधःof many kinds, manifold

राजाking

रूपम्form, appearance

कुर्वीतshould make/assume

धर्मवित्knower of dharma, righteous

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

rājā (the king)

bhujagāśanaḥ (peacock)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A dharma-knowing king should be adaptable: he must assume different outward roles and strategies as circumstances demand—conciliatory, firm, secretive, or generous—without abandoning righteousness. The simile of the peacock’s many colors highlights versatility guided by dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Bhishma continues advising on rajadharma. Here he uses a natural image—the peacock that eats snakes and displays many colors—to counsel that a ruler should reveal different ‘forms’ at different times for effective and ethical governance.