Shloka 48
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
ऊर्ध्वदृष्टिमहालिड्री मुखाज्ज्वाला: समुत्सृजन् । विकुर्वन् बहुधा वर्णान् नीलपाण्डुरलोहितान्
ūrdhvadṛṣṭir mahāliṅgī mukhāj jvālāḥ samutsṛjan | vikurvan bahudhā varṇān nīlapāṇḍuralohitān ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Le regard levé vers les hauteurs et portant un grand signe distinctif, il projeta des flammes de sa bouche. Par son pouvoir de métamorphose, il déploya maintes teintes—bleu, blanc livide et rouge—révélant une forme saisissante, d’un autre monde, signe de forces au-delà de la mesure humaine ordinaire.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary manifestations—flames, upward-fixed gaze, and shifting colors—function as liṅgas (signs) indicating a being or force operating beyond ordinary dharma-bound human capacity. Ethically, it cautions the listener to read such signs with discernment: power and spectacle are not themselves virtue, but they signal a heightened, potentially consequential presence that demands careful response.
Bhīṣma describes a formidable figure whose eyes are turned upward, who bears a prominent distinguishing mark, and who emits flames from the mouth while displaying multiple colors—blue, pale-white, and red—suggesting a terrifying, supernatural or portentous appearance being witnessed or recalled within the Śānti Parva discourse.