Shloka 118
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
कललादू बुदबुदोत्पत्ति: पेशी च बुद्बुदात् स्मृता । पेश्यास्त्वड्राभिनिर्वत्तिनखरोमाणि चाड्रत:
kalalād budbudotpattiḥ peśī ca budbudāt smṛtā | peśyās tv aṅgābhinirvṛttir nakharomāṇi cāṅgataḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Daripada kalala timbul bentuk seperti gelembung; daripada gelembung itu, dikatakan muncul gumpalan daging (peśī). Daripada peśī terbentuk anggota-anggota, dan daripada anggota-anggota itu tampak kuku serta rambut-rambut halus.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines a traditional sequence of bodily development—kalala to budbuda to peśī to limbs, then hair and nails—prompting ethical humility and detachment by showing the body as a constructed, impermanent product of natural order rather than a basis for ego.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on reflective knowledge and right understanding; here he describes stages of embryonic formation as part of a broader discourse meant to cultivate discernment about the body and the self.