Shloka 33
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
प्रतिलोमो5नुलोमश्न भवत्यथ शतक्रतुः । शुकवायसरूपी च हंसकोकिलरूपवान्,वे इन्द्र कभी अनुलोम संकरका रूप धारण करते हैं तो कभी विलोम संकरका। वे तोते, कौए, हंस और कोयलके रूपमें भी दिखायी देते हैं
pratilomo 'nulomaś ca bhavaty atha śatakratuḥ | śukavāyasarūpī ca haṃsakokilarūpavān ||
ಶತಕ್ರತು ಇಂದ್ರನು ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಪ್ರತಿಲೋಮ, ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅನುಲೋಮ ಸಂಕರರೂಪವನ್ನು ಧರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅವನು ಗಿಳಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಗೆ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ, ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಹಂಸ ಮತ್ತು ಕೋಗಿಲೆ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that even a great deity like Indra can appear in many guises and categories; therefore ethical judgment should not rest only on external form, labels, or birth-based classifications, but on deeper discernment of conduct and intent within dharma.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, cites Indra (Śatakratu) as an example of a being who assumes varied forms—linked here to anuloma/pratiloma categories and to bird-forms (parrot, crow, swan, cuckoo)—to illustrate the diversity and ambiguity of appearances in the world.