Shloka 30
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
भवत्यथ मुहूर्तेन चाण्डालसमदर्शन: । शिखी जटी चीरवासा: पुनर्भवति पुत्रक
bhavaty atha muhūrtena cāṇḍālasamadārśanaḥ | śikhī jaṭī cīravāsāḥ punar bhavati putraka ||
भवत्यथ मुहूर्तेन चाण्डालसमदर्शनः। शिखी जटी चीरवासा पुनर्भवति पुत्रक॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the instability of outward appearance and social markers: a person may seem exalted or degraded in an instant, and may also assume ascetic signs. Ethical judgment should therefore not rest solely on external dress, status, or momentary form, but on conduct and dharma.
Bhishma describes rapid shifts in a person’s outward form—at one moment resembling a caṇḍāla, at another appearing as an ascetic with topknot, matted hair, and bark garments—illustrating how quickly external identities can change.