Shloka 34
शुक्ल: कृष्णस्तथा रक्त: पीतो नीलारुणस्तथा । कठिनश्विक्कण: श्लक्ष्ण: पिच्छिलो मृदुदारुण:
śuklaḥ kṛṣṇas tathā raktaḥ pīto nīlāruṇas tathā | kaṭhinaś cikkaṇaḥ ślakṣṇaḥ picchilo mṛdu-dāruṇaḥ ||
Bharadvāja said: “(They are) white, black, and also red; yellow, and likewise blue and tawny. (They are) hard; smooth and glossy; fine to the touch; sticky; soft—and also harsh.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse catalogs opposed sensory qualities (colors and textures) to highlight the diversity and changeability of material nature; ethical insight lies in recognizing these as properties of prakṛti/embodiment rather than grounds for attachment, aversion, or identity.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bharadvāja is speaking and enumerates various observable qualities—hues and tactile properties—as part of a broader explanation about the characteristics of embodied existence and how a wise person should understand them.