Shloka 137
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सूचीरोमा हरिश्मश्रुरूर्ध्वकेशश्वलाचल: । गीतवादित्रतत्त्वज्ञो गीतवादनकप्रिय:
sūcīromā hariśmaśrur ūrdhvakeśaś calācalaḥ | gītavāditratattvajño gītavādanakapriyaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Les poils de son corps sont comme des aiguilles ; sa barbe et sa moustache sont sombres. Les cheveux de sa tête se dressent vers le haut. Il incarne à la fois les mondes mouvants et immobiles. Il connaît les principes véritables du chant et de la musique instrumentale, et il aime tout particulièrement chanter et jouer. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a figure marked by unusual ascetic/cosmic traits yet also refined knowledge of the arts: true excellence can include mastery of aesthetic disciplines (song and instruments) alongside a broader, all-encompassing vision of reality (calācala—moving and unmoving).
In Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he is describing a particular being/person by distinctive physical signs and capacities—especially his comprehensive nature and his expertise and fondness for music—within a larger didactic context.