Shloka 13
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
शाणीवालपरीधानो व्याप्रचर्मपरिच्छद: । सिंहचर्मपरीधान: पट्टवासास्तथैव च,कभी सन या ऊनके बने वस्त्र धारण करता है। कभी व्याप्र या सिंहके चमड़ोंसे अपने अंगोंको ढँक लेता है। कभी रेशमी पीताम्बर पहनता है
śāṇī-vāla-parīdhāno vyāghra-carma-paricchadaḥ | siṃha-carma-parīdhānaḥ paṭṭa-vāsās tathaiva ca ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “He appears in many guises of outward dress—at times wearing garments of hemp or wool; at times covering himself with tiger-skin; at times clad in lion-skin; and at times wearing fine silk cloth as well.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
External markers—coarse cloth, animal skins, or fine silk—do not by themselves establish virtue. The verse points toward judging dharma through inner discipline and conduct rather than outward costume.
Vasiṣṭha describes a figure whose attire changes across extremes (ascetic fabrics, animal hides, and luxurious silk), using this contrast to frame a moral reflection on the unreliability of appearances.