Shloka 8
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
शरीरमपि राजेन्द्र तस्य कानिषप्ठिकासमम् । ग्रीवा बाहू तथा पादौ केशाश्षाद्भुतदर्शना:,'राजेन्द्र। उनका शरीर भी कनिष्ठिका अंगुलीके समान पतला था। उनकी गर्दन, दोनों भुजाएँ, दोनों पैर और सिरके बाल भी अद्भुत दिखायी देते थे
śarīram api rājendra tasya kāniṣṭhikā-samam | grīvā bāhū tathā pādau keśāś cādbhuta-darśanāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O best of kings, even his body was as slender as a little finger. His neck, his two arms, his two feet, and the hair upon his head were all of an extraordinary appearance.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes careful observation and credible testimony in dharma-discourse: Bhīṣma presents distinctive physical signs to identify or characterize an extraordinary person, suggesting that outward marks can function as narrative evidence and as indicators of unusual destiny or nature.
Bhīṣma is describing to Yudhiṣṭhira the remarkable physical features of a certain individual—extremely slender-bodied, with striking limbs and hair—highlighting the person’s uncommon appearance as part of the ongoing account in Śānti Parva.