Shloka 160
अभ्राणामिव रूपाणि विकुर्वन्ति क्षणे क्षणे । अद्यैव हि रिपुर्भूत्वा पुनरद्यैव मे सुहत्
abhrāṇām iva rūpāṇi vikurvanti kṣaṇe kṣaṇe | adyaiva hi ripur bhūtvā punar adyaiva me su-hṛt ||
Bhīṣma said: “Like the shifting shapes of clouds, people’s dispositions transform from moment to moment. One who is an enemy today can, within the very same day, become my well-wisher again.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Relationships and intentions are unstable and can change rapidly; therefore one should act with discernment, avoid rigid enmity, and remain open to reconciliation while maintaining ethical prudence.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he uses the metaphor of clouds to explain to his listener that human alliances and hostilities are fickle—an enemy may quickly turn into a well-wisher, even within the same day.