Shloka 35

Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)

Devanagari script

अकृशो वायुभग्नाड्: शकुनिर्विकृतस्तथा । चतुष्पाद्‌ बहुरूपश्च पुनर्भवति बालिश:,वे कभी हृष्ट-पुष्ट, कभी वातरोगसे भग्न शरीरवाले और कभी पक्षी बन जाते हैं। कभी विकृत वेश बना लेते हैं। फिर कभी चौपाया (पशु), कभी बहुरूपिया और कभी गँवार बन जाते हैं

Transliteration

akṛśo vāyubhagnāṅgaḥ śakunir vikṛtas tathā | catuṣpād bahurūpaś ca punar bhavati bāliśaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: “Dalam kelahiran yang berulang-ulang, seseorang boleh muncul dalam pelbagai keadaan yang berubah—kadang-kadang kurus, kadang-kadang tubuhnya remuk oleh gangguan angin (vāta), kadang-kadang menjadi burung, kadang-kadang berwajah cacat. Kemudian dia boleh menjadi binatang berkaki empat, atau makhluk serba rupa, atau bahkan seorang yang dungu.”

Word by Word

अकृशःnot emaciated, stout

वायुभग्नाङ्गःone whose limbs are broken/afflicted by wind-disease (vāta)

शकुनिःa bird

विकृतःdeformed, altered (in form)

तथाthus, likewise

चतुष्पात्a quadruped (four-footed animal)

बहुरूपःmany-formed; a shape-shifter/actor

चand

पुनःagain

भवतिbecomes

बालिशःa fool, simpleton

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

bird (śakuni)

quadruped (catuṣpād)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That the results of karma can manifest as varied and even diminished embodiments—illness, deformity, animal birth, or foolishness—highlighting the ethical urgency of right conduct and right understanding.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is instructing about the workings of karma and saṃsāra, describing how a being may repeatedly take different bodily forms and conditions across births, including human, animal, and impaired states.